Will We Ever Be Again?
by m47e47l
Summary: Set between seasons 2 and 3. Sydney as Julia Thorne and Vaughn about to marry the enemy. Their paths were always meant to cross, but this time sooner than later. Full summary inside. COMPLETE.
1. Like She Did Before

**Summary: **Set between seasons 2 and 3. Sydney Bristow as Julia Thorne and Michael Vaughn about to marry the enemy. Their paths were always meant to cross, but this time sooner than later.

For this fic, I have exercised a little creative freedom. Firstly, Sydney was successfully brainwashed by the Covenant and believes herself to be Julia Thorne. However, she is more than aware of the fact that there are some things in her life that do not add up.  
As well as this successful brainwashing, Jack was never locked up, however Sloane was pardoned by the government, and is living his free life. Also, even though when Sydney originally returned in the series, Dixon had only been Director for 6 months, for the purpose of this fic, I have given him the promotion a little earlier.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Alias. The title of this story comes from the song 'Shimmer' by Fuel (which is one of the greatest songs _ever_. I highly suggest that those who have not heard it yet, do so).

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**Chapter One:  
Like She Did Before**

Julia Thorne opened her eyes, her gaze falling upon the clutter of the room around her. She sighed quietly, almost inaudibly. They had only been at the hotel for about a day and already the place was a mess.

Julia hated mess. At least she thought she did. A part of her felt the need to be organized and neat, but she wasn't exactly sure where it came from. In her line of work there she was never in one place long enough to be neat. For as long as she could remember, she had always been messy.

But then again, there were a lot of things that Julia was not sure about. Yes, she knew where she had come from, what happened during her childhood, her family, her education…but it was the little things that eluded her. Like what had been her dream job at the age of six? Certainly not an assassin, or so she hoped. When had she learned to braid hair? What had been her favourite toy? Her favourite book?

'_Alice in Wonderland_,' a small voice in the back of Julia's mind said. All that thought left her with was confusion. She could not even remember reading it.

From beside her, Julia heard a slight moan and felt Simon stir. Instinctively she closed her eyes, not wanting to talk to him just yet. They worked extremely well together in the field, and seemed to have fun out of it, but in truth Simon Walker was nothing more than a business partner. A colleague.

A person who made it slightly easier to get through the days. Julia was always alone and she was well aware that she would always be so. But when Simon was around, there was the illusion that she had that somebody to turn to.

_Like she did before._

As if hearing a silent cue, Simon's arm snaked around Julia's body, pulling her closer. "Morning," he murmured, nuzzling her neck, and Julia knew exactly what he wanted.

"Don't," she said, shifting slightly.

"What's the matter?" he asked. Simon wasn't exactly sure what had been going on with Julia lately. It hadn't taken him long to appreciate the woman he's been working with- in more ways than one. She possessed strength and determination that he almost found unbelievable. The way she went about her job, it was so professional. She was incredible to watch. And then there were those eyes, those cheekbones, that body…

But lately he'd found her almost pulling way from him, the ice, cold façade she out on when at work was starting to enter their leisure time. And then there were times when her expression turned completely blank, like she had no idea where she was.

Or even who she might be.

"Jules," he placed a hand on her bare shoulder. "Tell me."

"Nothing is the matter," she said abruptly, as she threw off the covers and grabbed a t-shirt from the floor. One of Simon's. Pulling it on, she stood up and then turned to face him. "It's just that we have a package to collect. We don't have time to fool around."

A slow grin formed on Simon's face. "That's what you said last week. But if I remember correctly…" he reached out for her, leaving the rest unsaid.

Julia stepped back from his reach. "We need to leave in the next fifteen minutes if we are to make this meet. And if you remember correctly, I happen to take my work seriously. So I suggest you get up. Now."

* * *

Aidan Moreau paced nervously. How he wished that he could be anywhere but here. But he didn't have a choice, did he? His wife, his son, they were at stake. 

And all for some bit of parchment with scribbled mumbo jumbo.

But they had promised to keep him safe, and his family. Right now they were supposedly rescuing Gemma and Jeremy. Now all he had to do was hand over this stupid bit of paper that his father had left him. Then it would all be over.

'_Damn you, dad_,' Aidan thought, his throat constricting as he saw a car approaching. '_Why couldn't you have left money like any other normal person?_'

The car pulled to a stop before him and the blonde woman and the dark haired man climbed out. The same two who had confronted him the day before.

Though, confronted was probably not a strong enough word…

"Hello Aidan," the woman's voice was clipped, void of all emotion. Aidan allowed himself a second to wonder how a person could end up as cold and heartless as she. What had she been through?

"Do you have what we asked for?" the man demanded.

Aidan gave a small nod, holding up his briefcase. "It's right here," he stammered.

Julia glanced at Simon and he nodded, pulling out his gun. Julia stepped forward and grabbed the suitcase.

"This had better be the real deal," she said, opening the case.

"It is," Aidan said quickly. "I promise."

Julia examined the page as Simon kept an eye on Aidan. It did appear to be authentic and…

Something caught her eye and Julia cocked her head. Across the top of the page, there was a clear line, resembling dried glue. She would not have even noticed it, had the sun not reflected off it.

She peered closer. What was it? Part of…she closed her eyes briefly, as something buried deep in her mind tried desperately to claw it's way out.

'..._Magic Marshall's invisible liquid tracer_...'

Julia straightened abruptly. "We've got a problem."

"What do you mean, a problem?" Simon asked, his voice forcibly calm, his eyes shifting between Julia and Aidan.

"This thing is bugged," she said, striding towards Aidan. "The guy is in cahoots with the CIA. Aren't' you, Aidan?" she asked, pulling out a gun and aiming it at his temple.

Aida's blood turned to ice. How could she have known? They had promised that he would be safe.

Simon's eyes narrowed. "How do you know that it's CIA?" he asked.

Julia did not blink, even though the same question was screaming itself inside her head.

"Just a hunch," she said, cocking her gun. "Though it doesn't really matter where the bug came from. The guy is tainted. Which means that our agreement is null and void."

Simon nodded and without hesitation, Julia fired her gun. Aidan Moreau fell to the ground, another notch on her already sizable tally.

"What are we going to do about that?" Simon gestured towards the briefcase.

"There's the camera in the car," Julia said, holstering her gun. "It will have to do. We can't risk taking it anywhere. But we need to move fast. Guaranteed there'll be a team nearby."

* * *

That night Julia never made it to bed, much to Simon's dismay. The day's events kept running through her mind. Why had she been so sure that the CIA had placed the tracer? Why had there been such an intense sense of familiarity? 

She had never seen such a tracer before. If she had never seen it, how could she have been aware of it? And looking for it.

Julia sat up straight. She hadn't been looking for it, had she? It had been the chance of the sun…hadn't it?

'_You'll get your answer, Mountaineer. All you need to do—_'

"Julia?" Simon's figure filled the doorframe.

"What?" She looked at him, that blank expression on her face again. Though, not entirely blank. There was something about her eyes that was different. Softer, maybe.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," she said. "I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

"I need to get away Simon," she said, looking him directly in the eyes. "I need some time to re-group."

"Why?"

Julia shrugged. "I haven't exactly been myself lately, and the last thing I want is to be a risk in the field. I know that if I could get away, have some time to myself, I'll get my focus back. "But," she paused, "I'll need your help. Our employers will never allow me vacation, not matter how small."

Simon nodded slowly. "Ok," he agreed. "I can cover for you. But only for a few days."

An extremely rare smile briefly crossed Julia's face. "Thank you, Simon."

"So, where are you going to go, Jules?"

"I'm not sure."

* * *

Julia stood in the airport, staring at the departure's board, waiting for an answer. She had her couple of days, days she hoped would clear her mind and allow her mind to go about her work without any type of disruptions. 

'_Where does Julia want to go?_' she asked herself, not finding it all odd that she referred to herself in the third person. She did that often. It was not 'I' or 'me', it was 'Julia'.

Suddenly something occurred to her. She was going about this the wrong way. This wasn't about Julia and where she wanted to go.

Intently she scanned the board again.

'_Where would Mountaineer want to go?_'

A small fluttering in her stomach, gave Julia the answer she so desperately wanted.

Los Angeles.


	2. Not The Same

Thank you all so much for your feedback. It is always very nerveracking to post a new fic, and it was such a relief to see it so well recieved. **

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**Chapter Two:  
Not The Same**

_Julia stood in the airport, staring at the departure's board, waiting for an answer. She had her couple of days, days she hoped would clear her mind and allow her mind to go about her work without any type of disruptions._

'Where does Julia want to go?_' she asked herself, not finding it all odd that she referred to herself in the third person. She did that often. It was not 'I' or 'me', it was 'Julia'._

_Suddenly something occurred to her. She was going about this the wrong way. This wasn't about Julia and where she wanted to go._

_Intently she scanned the board again._

'Where would Mountaineer want to go?_'_

_A small fluttering in her stomach, gave Julia the answer she so desperately wanted._

_Los Angeles.

* * *

_

Eric Weiss leaned back in his seat, his eyes looking around the conference room, wishing that he were home in bed. He was definitely regretting those last couple of drinks he'd had with Vaughn the night before.

It was all right for Vaughn that they'd had a big one. After all, his job wasn't about to call him in for an emergency meeting first thing Sunday morning.

"Good morning," Marcus Dixon announced as he entered the room.

"What's so good about it?" Weiss muttered, rubbing his temples.

"I'm afraid that I'm going to have to agree with you on that one, Agent Weiss," Dixon said. "Aidan Moreau was compromised yesterday."

Weiss straightened up in his seat. "What happened?"

"Our team could not move in quick enough and he was shot and killed by the party he was meeting," Dixon replied. "What was interesting was that they left behind the artefact."

"But that makes no sense," Weiss said, baffled. "They went to such lengths to locate Moreau and abduct his family. Why would they abandon it?"

"They would abandon it if they knew it were bugged," Jack Bristow spoke up, causing Marshall to visibly bristle.

"Uh, no offence, Mr Bristow, but that scenario is completely, um, unlikely, if not, ah, impossible. My tracer is hardly visible to the naked eye. Which is why, of course, we used it. Cos we thought…" he cut short, a look from Jack silencing him.

"Marshall," Dixon said. "Could they have seen it?"

Marshall shrugged. "Only if they knew it would be there."

"And they couldn't," Weiss put forward. "Could they?"

"They could," Jack said. "After all, information has a way of getting out."

"You think we could have a mole?" Weiss asked and Marshall's eyes widened at the mere thought.

"It is a possibility," Dixon admitted. "But for now," he pressed a button on the remote before him and a somewhat blurred picture appeared on the large screen behind him, "let's work on identifying these two. A satellite picked this up of the meet."

Weiss squinted his eyes, making sure that the fuzziness was not a result of the night before. However, the picture's resolution remained the same. The fuzzy image of a man's face and a partial of his female companion.

"Marshall is working on a program that will enable us to see this more clearly," Dixon said. "You'll free to go. You will all be notified when Marshall has finished."

* * *

Vaughn stared at Lauren almost fearful. Had he been blind to this side of her, or was this a new development? He couldn't believe that steady, calm Lauren had turned into this…in a matter of a week. 

"…so I was think that maybe we could use my family's farm for the ceremony. It would be so perfect, and we wouldn't have to worry about booking any facilities. Now, who were you thinking of having as your groomsmen? I assume—"

"Lauren," Vaughn cut her off, a small smile forming on his face. "Maybe you should slow down a bit?"

Lauren shot him a blank look. "Why?"

"We only got engaged a week ago. Maybe we should take the time to enjoy this before talking about receptions and flowers and all of those stressful things."

"But Michael," Lauren's tone took on a slight plaintive tone. "I don't want to wait. I want us to get married as soon as possible."

"As soon as possible?"

"That's right. I don't want to waste another day until I am your wife." She paused. "So, guest list. Who do you want? I know daddy is going to want to invite all of his political buddies. And I've got my friends from boarding school and college and all my colleague's from the NSC…" she went on, listing name after name.

Vaughn could feel a small sinking sensation in his stomach. He could only imagine how big this wedding was going to get. While he did not have a specific idea of what he wanted out of a wedding, there had been times when thoughts had crossed his mind. Small, casual, relaxed, fun…

He gave his head a small shake. He needed to forget those thoughts. After all, in those, his bride had not been blonde. She was a brunette

* * *

Later that day, Lauren walked into the kitchen to see Vaughn place the phone back into its receiver. 

"Who was that?"

"Weiss. Apparently it's my fault that he stayed up drinking last night and got called into an early meeting." He let out a small laugh. "The joys of the CIA, hey?"

Lauren eyed him closely. "You miss it, don't you?"

Vaughn blinked. "Excuse me?"

"The agency, the work you used to do," Lauren replied. "You miss it."

"Uh," Vaughn ran a hand through his hair, feeling slightly uncomfortable. This topic had never really come up between him and Lauren, and to be honest he did not want to discuss the CIA with her. It brought up too many memories. Memories that Lauren should not have been subjected to.

"Michael, I can see it in your eyes."

"Really?" Vaughn blurted out. In his own mid, he was not sure about what he felt. So how could Lauren be so adamant about what she saw?

"Yes," she replied, firmly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Have you ever considered returning?"

"No," Vaughn replied, truthfully. It had been about fifteen months since Sydney's death. He wasn't sure if he could walk through the door into Operations and not have all those painful wounds open up again.

"Well," Lauren started gently, "maybe you should. You know as well as I do, Michael, that you were not meant for the classroom."

"But I like my job," he replied stubbornly. And he did. It was like a well-earned rest, taking on a job that did not risk his life at least twice a week.

"I know you do, honey," Lauren said, lightly patting his chest. "I was just making a suggestion." She gave him a slight pout. "Do you think that you could possibly consider it?"

Vaughn's mind was in overdrive, and there was a slight flutter in his stomach. Like excitement…or anticipation. Could he possibly return?

"Michael?" Lauren's voice prompted him.

"Of course I'll think about it," Vaughn said. "But how about I leave any decision until after we are married?"

Lauren nodded. "Sounds good to me," she smiled. "Now, this afternoon I had a thought about the flower scheme…"

* * *

"She's like a woman possessed, Weiss." Vaughn said. The two of them had met up for lunch the following day. "Lauren wanting to get married ASAP is sounding more and more appealing. It's only been a week. I don't know how long I can last." 

Weiss just grinned. "Glad its you and not me."

Vaughn fell silent for a few seconds. "A part of me is wondering if I'm doing the right thing. Maybe it's too soon. We've only been together about six months and…"

Weiss cleared his throat. "I can't answer that. And if you're not sure all you have to do is ask yourself if you love her." He paused, waiting for an answer, but Vaughn remained silent. "Well," he prompted, "do you?"

"Yes, I do love her," Vaughn said running a hand through his hair. "I would never have asked her to marry me if I didn't."

"I'm sensing a but here."

"But…it's not the same as…no way near. What if that means it's not real?"

Weiss exhaled deeply, his mind going back to the destroyed Vaughn he'd witnessed after Sydney's death. "Vaughn, what you and Syd had, the chances of experiencing that again are pretty slim. You cannot compare the two of them. If you love Lauren, and if you are happy with her, then you are doing the right thing."

Vaughn was nodding, feeling placated. What he was feeling had to be usual thing for impending grooms, right.

'_Except most get cold feet when the wedding nears, not straight after proposing_.'

Shoving those thoughts aside, Vaughn clapped his hands together. "Ok, change the subject."

"Couldn't agree more," Weiss said heartedly. "So what's next on the agenda today?"

Vaughn took a mouthful of coffee. "What would you say if I were considering a return to the CIA?"

Weiss's face broke into a jovial smile. "I'd say that it's about bloody time."

"I haven't decided anything," Vaughn broke in. "It's just a thought at the moment."

"Well then," Weiss leaned back into his seat. "I'm just going to have to make sure that something happens to bring you back into the mix. Something that would make it impossible for you to stay away."

Vaughn chuckled. "I'll be waiting to see what you come up with."

Weiss nodded. "You do that."


	3. Ghosts

Thank you all so much for your feedback- it is awesome to read.

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**Chapter Three:  
Ghosts**

"_Yes, I do love her," Vaughn said running a hand through his hair. "I would never have asked her to marry me if I didn't."_

"_I'm sensing a but here."_

"_But…it's not the same as…no way near. What if that means it's not real?"_

_Weiss exhaled deeply, his mind going back to the destroyed Vaughn he'd witnessed after Sydney's death. "Vaughn, what you and Syd had, the chances of experiencing that again are pretty slim. You cannot compare the two of them. If you love Lauren, and if you are happy with her, then you are doing the right thing."_

_Vaughn was nodding, feeling placated. What he was feeling had to be usual thing for impending grooms, right._

'Except most get cold feet when the wedding nears, not straight after proposing_.'_

_Shoving those thoughts aside, Vaughn clapped his hands together. "Ok, change the subject."_

"_Couldn't agree more," Weiss said heartedly. "So what's next on the agenda today?"_

_Vaughn took a mouthful of coffee. "What would you say if I were considering a return to the CIA?"_

_Weiss's face broke into a jovial smile. "I'd say that it's about bloody time."_

"_I haven't' decided anything," Vaughn broke in. "It's just a thought at the moment."_

"_Well then," Weiss leaned back into his seat. "I'm just going to have to make sure that something happens to bring you back into the mix. Something that would make it impossible for you to stay away."_

_Vaughn chuckled. "I'll be waiting to see what you come up with."_

_Weiss nodded. "You do that."

* * *

_

It was a perfect day, and while the rest of Los Angeles were being forced behind their desks, or whatever it was they did for a living, Julia had the freedom to do as she pleased.

She let out a sigh, wiggling her toes, enjoying the sensation of the sand. The ocean before her was calm and it had a settling effect. Maybe this was all that she needed. A trip to the beach.

Whoever Mountaineer was, Julia was glad that they had pointed her in this direction.

* * *

The first thing Weiss noticed when he returned to Operations after lunch was Marshall's triumphant face. 

"Simon Walker," he announced.

"What?" Weiss asked.

"The guy who met with Moreau. His name is Simon Walker," Marshall replied. "There's a meeting in Dixon's office right now. Your presence is required."

Weiss fell into step beside Marshall as the two of them headed towards Dixon's office. "What about the woman? Did you get anything on her?"

Marshall shook his head. "As I thought, there was not enough features to run her through the facial database."

"Well," Weiss said, pushing open the door to Dixon's office. "At least we got the guy."

"Nice of you to join us, Agent Weiss," Dixon's voice cut in.

"Sorry," Weiss said, sheepishly. "Lunch took a bit longer than expected."

Dixon gave a short nod. "I take it Marshall told you the good news."

"Yup," Weiss replied. "What else do we have on this guy, besides his name?"

"Simon Walker," Jack began reciting from memory. "The guy crime groups go to when they want a job done. He was the point man on the Damascus amory job in 99, and the 2002 break-in at Vector. A cold-blooded contract guy, who only uses other freelancers."

"The word is that lately he has been doing a considerable amount of work for the Covenant," Dixon added. "And it would seem that of late he has been working with a female. A blonde female."

"Our Jane Doe?" Weiss asked, picking up a copy of the photograph from the table before them.

"The very same," Dixon said.

"Well, we've identified Walker," Jack said. "It won't be long before she is no longer a Jane Doe."

* * *

Back at his desk, Jack pulled out his own copy of the photo. There was something about it that puzzled him. Something about the woman. 

He didn't know why. It wasn't as if there were any identifying features about her. All you could see was her blonde hair, and a slight glimpse at the left side of her face. If only she had turned slightly more, so that her eyes were visible. It was eyes that gave away everything, but she was giving away nothing.

Even so, Jack felt a sense of familiarity when looking at her. All his instincts were telling him that he knew her, that he had seen before.

But, of course, his head was telling him those thoughts were ludicrous. How could he possibly feel that he knew this woman when he did not even know what she looked like?

Opening his top drawer, Jack placed the photo within. The CIA would do its job. He'd know soon as to whether his head or his gut was right.

And if history were to repeat itself, he'd be placing his money on his gut.

* * *

It was after Julia left the beach and climbed into her rental car when the overwhelming sense of déjà vu hit. Starting the engine, she pulled out into the streets. It was like that she was driving randomly, she had no idea of street names, or where they headed. 

But in another sense, she knew that she would be there soon.

'_The only question was, where was there?_'

After driving for about ten minutes, her head told her to stop and she did so. However, Julia did not her out of the car. She was feeling so unsettled that she wasn't sure if her legs would be able to support her.

What the hell was going on? What was she doing to herself? Why was she telling herself to come here?

She looked out the window and frowned at the home before her. This wasn't right. It looked completely different.

Julia buried her head into her hands. '_Different to what?_' she thought miserably. She didn't know what this place was that she looking at. As far as she was concerned, she had never been to Los Angeles.

So why had she felt the need to come here, to this city, to this street? Why?

'_Because, this place is home_.'

* * *

Vaughn was packing up his books when his mobile started to ring. "Hello," he answered, resting it between his cheek and shoulder, allowing him to continue with what he was doing. 

"Michael, honey."

"Hey Lauren. What up?"

"My late meeting was cancelled. I was going to make us dinner and just anted to check what time you were going to be home."

"Ah," Vaughn glanced at his watch. "About an hour?" The truth was that he could have been there in twenty minutes, but there was somewhere that he wanted to go first.

"Ok then. I'll see you then, sweetie."

A short while later Vaughn was walking along the pier, his hands in his pockets. He came here regularly. Even though many if his memories of Sydney were now tainted with pain and loss, his did not want to risk forgetting the good ones.

And the pier made sure that wasn't going to happen.

For some reason it was busier than usual that evening. Dodging people, Vaughn found himself at the rail, looking out to the sea. He felt good, he felt calm. Since meeting Lauren, he'd been experiencing feelings of guilt about moving on, but he had realized that he had to. He could not continue living as a shadow of his former self. Even so, every now and them he experienced feelings of doubt, such as those that had surfaced during lunch earlier that day.

However, the pier always made those feelings dissipate. Though he had to wonder. Was it the pier that made that happen? Or was it Sydney's presence that he felt when there?

* * *

Julia strolled along the slightly crowded pier, her unsettled feeling starting to ebb. The fresh salty air and the sand of the ocean had soothed her almost as soon as she arrived. 

A small smile crossed her face. Maybe she should put down roots somewhere near the ocean.

'_If Julia would ever have the chance to put down roots_.'

Her heart sank as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The chances of that happening were slim to none.

* * *

Vaughn turned around and glanced at his watch. He should be heading off soon. Lauren would be wondering where he was. However, as he was about to step forward, he caught a glance of somebody walking in the distance. 

He blinked. It was impossible. But she looked so real, as real as the last time he had seen her.

**_xxxxx_**

_He took her chin in his hand. "Another day," he said, kissing her gently. "So, I did it."_

_She gave him a slightly intrigued look. "Did what?"_

"_I booked the hotel."_

_A ghost of a smile crossed her face. "You didn't."_

"_Yes, I did?"_

"_You did?" she asked, her smile growing wider._

"_Mm-hmm."_

"_Santa Barbara."_

"_Three nights starting tonight," he let out a soft chuckle, a grin on his face. "I mean, it was probably the greatest phone call I've ever made."_

_She nodded slightly "Well, you're a genius."_

"_Thank you," he leaned in, pressing their lips together once more. "So, after the debrief, I'll come and pick you up."_

"_Ok."_

**_xxxxx_**

Vaughn drew in a deep breath, watching as the woman turned and headed in the opposite direction, her blonde hair cascading down her back.

This was not the first time that he'd thought he had seen Sydney. In the time after her death, he had seen her everywhere. However, the occurrences had slowed down and this was the first sighting he'd had in months.

'_Just your mind playing tricks_,' he told himself.

But then, his heart skipped a beat as the woman stopped and looked over her shoulder. By chance, their eyes connected and Vaughn knew instantly. They were Sydney's eyes.

Yet not a flicker of recognition crossed the woman's face as she turned once again and then walked off.

Swallowing hard, Vaughn pulled out his mobile, hitting one of his speed dials.

"Weiss."

"It's Vaughn. Can you do me a favour?"

"What?"

"Tell me that I'm not crazy."

Weiss let out a laugh. "And why do I need to do that?"

Vaughn paused. "Because I think I just saw a ghost."


	4. In Their Mind

Thank you all so much for your feedback.

**lakersgirl11820:** I have written about 21 chapters for this story, and it is looking like there will be about 25 in all- but don't hold me to that:) The numbers are subject to change.

**RoutineRiot: **Your question about Lauren will be answered in the coming chapters (though I have probably already gieven it away by typing that...)

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**Chapter Four:  
In Their Minds**

_Vaughn drew in a deep breath, watching as the woman turned and headed in the opposite direction, her blonde hair cascading down her back._

_This was not the first time that he'd thought he had seen Sydney. In the time after her death, he had seen her everywhere. However, the occurrences had slowed down and this was the first sighting he'd had in months._

'Just your mind playing tricks_,' he told himself._

_But then, his heart skipped a beat as the woman stopped and looked over her shoulder. By chance, their eyes connected and Vaughn knew instantly. They were Sydney's eyes._

_Yet not a flicker of recognition crossed the woman's face as she turned once again and then walked off._

_Swallowing hard, Vaughn pulled out his mobile, hitting one of his speed dials._

"_Weiss."_

"_It's Vaughn. Can you do me a favour?"_

"_What?"_

"_Tell me that I'm not crazy."_

_Weiss let out a laugh. "And why do I need to do that?"_

_Vaughn paused. "Because I think I just saw a ghost."

* * *

_

"Vaughn, come on. You need to get a grip. There is no way that this woman you saw was Sydney," Weiss said. "In any form- physical or spiritual."

"Don't you think that I want to believe that?" Vaughn said, running a hand through his hair. He had headed straight to Weiss's after the phone call, at his friend's insistence.

"Then why don't you?"

"Because I can't," Vaughn replied. "You weren't there. You didn't see what I saw."

"What exactly did you see?" Weiss asked. "What exactly did this woman look like?"

"Like Sydney." Vaughn let out loudly and then paused. "Except that she had blonde hair."

"Blonde hair?" Weiss said, his expression slightly dubious.

"Don't give that look!" Vaughn exclaimed indignantly.

"Vaughn, just listen to yourself," Weiss started calmly. "And look at this from my point of view. You are standing here telling me you think you saw a ghost. Of Sydney with blonde hair." He paused. "Do you honestly think that is plausible?"

Vaughn didn't know what to think anymore. The woman's eyes were burned into his mind and he could not push them aside.

Weiss could sense his friend's confusion. "Vaughn, have you thought that maybe this was your mind playing tricks on you? Like the times you thought you saw Sydney after she died."

"I did, but this is different," Vaughn said. "Those times, I knew that it wasn't really her. It was just…but today…" he trailed off, shaking his head. "And I know it's insane to think that it was a ghost or something."

"Finally, some sense."

Vaughn looked up at Weiss. "But if she wasn't in my mind, that means that she was real. What if—"

"Vaughn, whoa." Weiss jumped in. "Do not do that."

"But—"

"Vaughn," Weiss started gently. "Sydney died. You scattered her ashes. Don't start doing this to yourself. Not when you are finally moving on."

"Weiss, I—" Vaughn cut off as his mobile started to ring. Flipping it open, he pressed it to his ear. "Hello."

"Michael," Lauren's voice snapped. "Where are you?"

Vaughn glanced at his watch. "Oh god. Lauren, I'm sorry. I'm at Weiss's. I kinda lost track of the time."

"What are you doing at Eric's? You told me that you were coming home."

"I know but Weiss had, uh, a spider that he needed me to kill," Vaughn said, ignoring the indignant protests coming from Weiss's direction.

There was a pause on Lauren's end of the phone. "Again?" she asked.

"Yeah. You know how he gets," Vaughn said. "Look, I'm on my way now. I'll see you soon." Hanging up the phone, he turned to Weiss. "I gotta go."

"Before you go, can you do me a favour?"

"Sure."

"Remember that you are allowed to be happy."

* * *

When Julia climbed into bed that night the only thing on her mind was the man she had seen on the pier earlier on. She didn't know him from a bar of soap, but when their eyes had met something had stirred, deep in the pit of her stomach. 

She nestled down under the crisp hotel linen; suddenly wishing that Simon was with her. Not because she wanted _him_, but because she was yearning the company. Somebody who could wrap her in his arms and keep her warm.

Julia moved her legs up, pulling herself into the foetal position and then squeezed her eyes shut.

* * *

"Michael, what do you think of peonies?" 

Vaughn, who had been about to drift off, rolled over and looked at Lauren who was sitting up in the bed, a notepad before her.

"What are peonies?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.

"It's a flower. I want them in my bouquet and I thought that they would look nice on your breast pocket. Because what ever you have, it's going to have match."

Vaughn closed his eyes briefly. "Lauren, could we possibly leave this until morning?"

"Michael, don't you care about this wedding?"

"Of course I care, but right now I am tired and I want to go to sleep."

Lauren's expression softened. "I'm sorry, Michael. I've been behaving a little crazy lately, haven't I?"

Vaughn hesitated. "If I speak the truth, are you going to hurt me?"

Lauren laughed. "I hear you, loud and clear. And once again, I am sorry. It's just that I'm a tad bit excited about marrying you. But," she leaned down, pressing her lips into his. "I'm sure that you are feeling the same way."

"Of course," Vaughn said as the image of the woman on the pier flashed in his mind.

* * *

The ringing of her mobile wrenched Julia from her sleep. For a second she just lay, replaying, in her mind, the dream she had just had. 

It had been so strange, filled with chest of drawers, and Boyscouts. All of them wearing watches that had stopped.

With a shake of her head, Julia reached across and picked up her phone. "Hello."

"Jules, baby."

Julia sat up. "Hello Simon." She cleared her throat. "What is it?"

"I just though that I would check in. See how you were doing."

"I'm fine…" she broke off into a yawn.

"Have you been out partying without me?" Simon asked, and Julia could easily picture his playful pout.

"No, I just didn't sleep well," she replied. "I had a really weird dream."

"Was I in it?" Simon asked lasciviously.

"No…there were drawers. What does it mean when you dream about drawers?"

"Hmm, were they empty or full?"

Julia thought for a second. "They were empty."

"Well, then I say it means that you need to buy some more clothes," Simon said with a laugh."

"How insightful of you," she replied dryly. "How are things where you are?"

"Quiet- thankfully. I'll let you know as soon as we get another job." He paused for a few seconds. "When do you think you'll be back?"

"Another couple of days," Julia said. "Max."

"Ok then, I'll see you soon?"

"Of course."

With a sigh, Julia ended the call and threw herself back down onto the pillows. Boyscouts, watches and drawers. She was never going to get any answers with stuff like that in her head.

* * *

"Hey," Weiss poked his head into Marshall's office. "Anything new on Walker's companion?" 

Marshall shook his head. "I'm running a search of hotel and airport security cameras, seeing if Walker pops up again and if she is with him. But it's going to take a while, so be prepared for a wait."

"Well, in that case," Weiss pulled out a deck of cards from his pocket.

Marshall grinned. "Come on in."

* * *

During lunch Vaughn had planned to get a start on the pile of marking that had been building up. He had intended doing it the previous night, but he had been so distracted that there was no way that he would have got any productive work done. 

However, not much work was getting done at this point either. And Vaughn wasn't going to get anything done until he had forgotten the pier incident.

But then again, maybe he shouldn't forget about it. Whoever that woman, and whether she was even real or not, Vaughn had seen her as Sydney.

Sydney Bristow, the one woman who he had loved more than anything.

So maybe, yesterday at the pier had been a sign. If he was seeing Sydney then perhaps it meant that he was not entirely sure about the next step he was about to take with Lauren.

'_Stop it,_' he told himself. '_You love Lauren_.'

And she deserved more than he was giving her at the moment, Vaughn realized with a sinking heart. If he was to marry her then he had to give himself to her completely.

Not just a part of him while the rest remained focused on the love that he had lost.

'_Give it a couple more days,_' Vaughn decided, picking up a pen. If anything similar to what happened at the pier occurred then he would know.

Know once and for all whether marrying Lauren was the right thing to do.


	5. Sydney

Thank you all so much for your feedback.

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter Five:  
Sydney**

_But then again, maybe he shouldn't forget about it. Whoever that woman, and whether she was even real or not, Vaughn had seen her as Sydney._

_Sydney Bristow, the one woman who he had loved more than anything._

_So maybe, yesterday at the pier had been a sign. If he was seeing Sydney then perhaps it meant that he was not entirely sure about the next step he was about to take with Lauren._

'Stop it_,' he told himself. '_You love Lauren_.'_

_And she deserved more than he was giving her at the moment, Vaughn realized with a sinking heart. If he was to marry her then he had to give himself to her completely._

_Not just a part of him while the rest remained focused on the love that he had lost._

'Give it a couple more days_,' Vaughn decided, picking up a pen. If anything similar to what happened at the pier occurred then he would know._

_Know once and for all whether marrying Lauren was the right thing to do.

* * *

_

Coming here was just asking for trouble. Vaughn was more than aware of that fact. But he could not deny that he needed to do this.

The secluded part of the beach was still as beautiful as ever, but that beauty had been tainted slightly. Vaughn sat down in the sand and looked out to the horizon, seeing himself as he scattered the ashes out into the water.

But as this played through his mind, there was not the sharp ache that usually accompanied thoughts like those. He inhaled deeply. That was a good sign, wasn't it? That he could return to this place and not be overwhelmed by all the loss that it represented.

As if he had no control over the matter, Vaughn let out a short laugh. He had been stupid to let that woman at the pier get to him so much. That he had even entertained the idea that Sydney was alive was insane.

He must have been punishing himself. Sub-consciously jeopardizing the life that he could lead with Lauren. But Weiss was right. He deserved to be happy.

Everybody did, didn't they?

He leaned back, his hands behind him on the sand, watching a seagull as it walked along the waters edge. After a few moments it spread its wings and ascended into the sky, flying into the distance behind Vaughn. His eyes followed it, as it disappeared over the dunes and…

Vaughn froze, spotting a figure who was standing motionlessly on the dunes. It was her. The woman from the pier. He could see her much clearly now and there was no denying it.

He was seeing Sydney.

Her eyes fell upon him and abruptly she turned and walked away.

"No," Vaughn muttered, standing up. "Sydney!" he yelled, running up the beach and over the dunes. "Sydney!"

But there was no sign of the woman anywhere. It was as if she had disappeared into thin air.

* * *

Julia collapsed into the san, trying to steady her breaths. Why had he looked at her that way? And why had be called her Sydney? 

Squeezing her eyes shut she raked her hands through her hair. She should have realized something was up when she stopped at this particular place. She had assumed that arriving here had been an accident. She had spent the morning driving, exploring the streets, to see if anything else felt familiar to her. Nothing had, and she had only stopped when she felt the need for fresh air.

Yet, when she stepped over that dune and looked out at the waves, Julia had experienced the sudden urge to cry. Her throat had constricted and her heart had felt as if it were being ripped into two. The beach was a beautiful place, but it was not a happy one.

However, those feelings had dissolved as soon as Julia had spotted the man. The man from the pier.

The way he had looked at her. His face had been filled with so much anguish. Julia knew that she had to get out of there.

'_Sydney!_'

His voice played through her mind over and over again. What did that mean? Julia had never known a person named Sydney. She hadn't even been to the city.

But after hearing it, Julia had felt the urge to reply. And that urge had felt completely natural to her.

'_Sydney…Sydney…Syd…Sydney…_'

The name continued to repeat in her mind, expect that each time it was a different voice, voices that she had never heard before, but voices she knew. Voices that had been buried in her mind, wanting desperately to be heard.

Julia was beginning to think that maybe this trip was a big mistake. She was more confused, and more frustrated than she had been before she left.

There were so many fragments, so many bits and pieces and each and every one of them seemingly random.

And if something didn't happen to enable her to out them together, Julia had no idea as to how she was supposed to move forward and get on with her life.

* * *

Vaughn pulled to a stop in the driveway, his stomach churning. How was he supposed to do this? And what exactly was he doing? Was it just a break until he sorted himself, or would he be breaking it off between himself and Lauren for good? 

How could he do this? Break up with her after he had only just proposed. What sort of a person does a complete 180 in such a short time?

'_A person who had just started seeing his dead girlfriend popping up in all manner of places_.'

He leaned back in his seat, rubbing his forehead. He obviously wasn't as ready to move on as he thought. And he owed it to Lauren, and to himself, to come clean.

To be brutally honest and tell her that, perhaps, he was not the one for her.

* * *

Julia curled up in an armchair with the coffee ice cream that she had ordered from room service. Upon returning to the hotel she had considered calling Simon, but then decided against it, instead opting to stay alone with her thoughts. 

She had known that the CIA had placed the tracer. She had found herself referring to herself as Mountaineer, which led her to Los Angeles. Then there was that apartment, the pier, the beach, that man…and now Sydney.

Something was telling her that Sydney was central to all of this. That if she found Sydney, she would solve the puzzle. Everything would fall into place.

The only problem was Julia had not a clue as to how she could locate Sydney.

* * *

Lauren's expression was thunderous. "What?" she asked through gritted teeth. "What did you just say?" 

"I said that, uh," Vaughn coughed, clearing his throat. "I think that we should take a break."

"A break? You want us to take a break?"

Vaughn nodded, feeling awful. "Lauren, I—"

She cut him off, thrusting her left hand in his face. "Do you see that, Michael?" she asked, indicating the diamond on her ring finger. "You proposed not even _two_ weeks ago and now you are breaking it off with me? Forgive me if I am feeling a little confused."

"Lauren, I am so sorry," Vaughn started miserably. "I though that I was ready, but now…"

Lauren's eyes narrowed. "So this is about Sydney?"

Vaughn was startled slightly. It was a rare occurrence to hear that name spoken between them. "It's part of it. This, this is all on me. You have done nothing wrong. You have been nothing short of incredible and you deserve so much more than me."

"I think I can determine what I deserve, Michael."

"You don't deserve a person who's…whose focus is split."

Lauren threw up her hands. "And you couldn't have realized that your focus was split _before_ you asked me to marry you?"

"Lauren—"

"No," she held up a hand. "I really don't want to be around you right now, Michael. You say that I don't deserve you, but what you should know is that what I don't deserve is to be hurt. And that is exactly what you have done."

* * *

Lauren slammed her car door shut, absolutely fuming. She could not believe the turn of events that had just occurred. 

Things with Michael had been going along swimmingly. He had proposed and she had him considering a return to the CIA. Everything was going to plan and now this?

Something had obviously happened to trigger his sudden change of heart. Something big. And she was going to do everything in her power to find out what, and then make sure that the problem was eliminated.

* * *

Weiss and Jack were seated in Dixon's office, going through some of the minor issues that the agency was taking care of at the moment. But their productive meeting came to an abrupt end when a breathless Marshall burst into the room. 

"Marshall," Dixon frowned, less than impressed by the interruption. "What is it?"

"I…found…picture…Walker," Marshall let out breathlessly.

"Marshall," Weiss spoke up. "Take a breath and then speak."

Marshall did so. "I located another photo of Walker." He paused. "One with him and, uh, that…woman," his voice faltered at that point.

"Well," Jack said impatiently. "Show us."

Marshall hesitated, as he clutched the photo to this chest. "I think that…maybe you should sit down."

"Marshall," Dixon said. "We already are."

"Right." Marshall paused. "But I think I need to." He threw himself down next to Weiss.

Dixon held out his hand. "The photo, please."

Marshall nodded slowly. "I think that you should…prepare yourselves."

"For what?" Weiss asked.

"For this," Marshall replied, placing the photo on the table before them.

The three men all stared, unable to comprehend the image before them. It was crazy. It was implausible. It was impossible. It was…

"Sydney," Jack whispered.


	6. As Soon As Possible

Thank you all so much for your feedback.

**RoutineRiot: **Do Syd and Lauren cross paths? You ask me these questions and you just know that I'm not going to answer it :P...you're just going to have to keep reading the story to get your answer :)

**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter Six:  
As Soon As Possible**

"_Marshall," Dixon frowned, less than impressed by the interruption. "What is it?"_

"_I…found…picture…Walker," Marshall let out breathlessly._

"_Marshall," Weiss spoke up. "Take a breath and then speak."_

_Marshall did so. "I located another photo of Walker." He paused. "One with him and, uh, that…woman," his voice faltered at that point._

"_Well," Jack said impatiently. "Show us."_

_Marshall hesitated, as he clutched the photo to this chest. "I think that…maybe you should sit down."_

"_Marshall," Dixon said. "We already are."_

"_Right." Marshal paused. "But I think I need to." He threw himself down next to Weiss._

_Dixon held out his hand. "The photo, please."_

_Marshall nodded slowly. "I think that you should…prepare yourselves."_

"_For what?" Weiss asked._

"_For this," Marshall replied, placing the photo on the table before them._

_The three men all stared, unable to comprehend the image before them. It was crazy. It was implausible. It was impossible. It was…_

"_Sydney," Jack whispered._

Dixon turned to Marshall. "Where was this taken from?" he demanded.

"Two weeks ago, from a hotel in Florence," Marshall replied quickly.

"This can't be right," Weiss blurted out. "You saw what happened to Moreau. We've read about the things that Walker does. There is no way that Sydney would be involved in any of that stuff."

"We have no idea what sort of influence she is under," Jack said quietly, his eyes not moving from the photo. His gut had proved to be right once again. He did know the woman in that that first picture. "Look at the photo, Agent Weiss, there is no denying that woman is Sydney."

"But, uh, what about Project Helix," Marshall put forth tentatively. "Could somebody have got the technology before we destroyed it? Or could they have reengineered it?"

"A definite possibility," Dixon said. "One that we cannot be sure of until we have this woman in custody. Now, we know that she was with Walker at the meet with Moreau, but…" Dixon stopped, seeing the wide-eyed expression on Weiss's face. "Is there a problem, Agent Weiss?"

"Um," Weiss ran a hand through his hair. "I was talking to Vaughn the other day. He was…he had been at the pier and was convinced that he had seen a woman there who looked like Sydney." He paused. "Sydney with blonde hair. I thought that it was just his mind playing tricks. I mean, the possibility of Sydney being alive was…but now…"

"Are you suggesting that there is a possibility that she could be in L.A right now?" Jack asked.

Weiss nodded. "It's something that we should consider."

"Ok," Dixon said. "This is to be everybody's priority. I want this woman, whoever she may be, in our custody ASAP."

* * *

When Weiss returned to his desk he saw that he has a missed call from Vaughn, and a voice message waiting. 

"_Hey Weiss, could you call me back. It…it happened again. I'm at home_."

Weiss put down the phone and just looked at it. He knew that he would not be permitted to tell Vaughn what he had just learnt, so how was he supposed to talk to him?

"Willing the phone to ring, Agent Weiss?"

Weiss looked up at Jack and shook his head. "Just contemplating returning a call…Vaughn."

Without a word Jack placed an envelope on the desk and Weiss shot him a curious look.

"I spoke to Dixon. You can tell him." With that Jack turned on his heel and walked off. Weiss started after him, wondering what exactly he would be going through at the moment. To believe that his daughter had been dead for fifteen months, only to be confronted with the possibility that she was alive.

Letting out a loud sigh, Weiss picked up the phone once again.

"Hello."

"Vaughn, it's Weiss. I got your message. And, uh, there's something—"

"I broke up with Lauren." Vaughn said bluntly.

Weiss coughed. "You did what?"

"I couldn't stay with her. Not when I saw…" he exhaled sharply. "Not when I saw Sydney again."

"What happened?" Weiss asked.

"I went back to the beach. Where we had the funeral. And she was there."

Weiss's mind was ticking. If she had been at that beach, did that mean that the woman really was Sydney? Why else would she have gone there?

"Weiss?" Vaughn's voice broke into his thoughts. "You there?"

"Yeah. Look Vaughn, have you got anything on?"

"No. Why?"

"I'm coming over. I've gotta talk to you about something."

* * *

"What is going on?" Vaughn demanded, flinging his front door open. "You can't just end a phone call like that. You'll drive a person insane." 

Weiss simply walked into the house and headed to the lounge room. When there he pulled out the envelope. "There's this guy. Simon Walker. He's a contract man, working for a terrorist cell. Recently he's been working with a woman and we've spent the past few days trying to identify her." He paused. "And today we did."

"What does this have to do with me? You shouldn't even be telling me this."

From out of the envelope, Weiss pulled out the photograph and handed it over to Vaughn. "This is what it has to do with you."

The colour drained from Vaughn's face as he sank down into a chair. After a few seconds, he looked up at Weiss. "Is…is…who…"

"We don't know for sure if it is her." Weiss replied. "With Project Helix and all that. But since you said that she showed up at the beach…"

Vaughn drew in a shaky breath. "It can't be. If Syd was really alive there was no way she could not have made contact. There is no way that she would be working for…" he cut off. "What type of work?"

Weiss hesitated. "We're not exactly sure. But a lot of fatalities have bee left in her wake."

"Oh god," Vaughn ran a hand though his hair. "How could this happen?"

"That is what we are trying to find out," Weiss said. "And thanks to you, we've got a lead as to where to start."

"Sydney, alive and in L.A," Vaughn muttered. Suddenly, he stood up. "I should have known."

"Known what?"

"Known that she was alive. I should have—"

"Vaughn, how could you have? There was no way any of us could have known."

Vaughn had started to pace. "So you have nothing else, aside from the fact that she is probably in L.A as we speak."

Weiss nodded. "Uh huh."

"I want in on this," Vaughn said. "I want to come back. I want in."

"Vaughn, just slow down for a sec. There are steps that have to be taken—"

"I don't care what it takes. There is no way I am sitting back on this one."

* * *

"_I couldn't stay with her. Not when I saw... Not when I saw Sydney again_." 

Lauren played the recording of the phone call once more to check that she had heard correctly. After hearing it Michael's complete turnaround made complete sense.

And Lauren was furious. She had been assured that this possibility would have never happened. What the hell was she doing in Los Angeles?

She stopped the recording when her mobile started to ring. It was about time.

"Hello."

"Miss Reed. I just got your message. What seems to be the problem?"

"Thorne, or Bristow, or whatever you want to call her is on the loose."

"I don't think so. She is currently occupied with Walker."

"Then why has she been spotted walking around the streets of Los Angeles? By Michael Vaughn nonetheless."

"He saw her?"

"Yes, and it seems that he now thinks that seeing his 'dead' girlfriend is a sign that he should not be getting married."

"You mean…"

"The engagement is off. Bristow needs be brought back in. eliminated if need be."

"We cannot act prematurely. She is important—"

"The CIA knows."

"What?"

"I intercepted a call of Michael telling his little agency buddy. It would be long before the realize it wasn't her ashes they scattered."

* * *

"Ok, it will be a little while before your field rating will be re-instated, but for now you are cleared for analyst work," Dixon said to Vaughn as they walked through the Operations centre. 

Vaughn nodded. It felt strange to be back, for many reasons. The main one being the task that he was about to embark on.

Returning to recover his supposed dead girlfriend. It was the stuff made for movies.

"But," Dixon stopped his steps, "on a personal note, it's good to have you back."

Vaughn nodded shortly. "It's good to be back…even given my reason for doing so."

"Hey," Weiss came up beside them. "So, they actually let you back in."

A small smile crossed Dixon's face. "I'll leave you to it," he said and then walked off.

"How are you doing?" Weiss asked.

"So far, so good," Vaughn replied. "I just want to find her as soon as possible."

"We all do, Vaughn. We all do."

* * *

With a sign Julia flipped open her phone and pressed it to her ear. "Hello." 

"Julia." It was Simon.

"What is it?"

"Wherever you are, you need to disappear. Now," he hissed urgently.

"Why?" She sat up straight. "What's going on?"

"The Covenant. They think that you're a threat. And you know what they do to threats."

Julia's throat constricted. "Why would they think that?"

"I don't know. But you need—" The line suddenly went dead.

"Simon? Simon?" With a churning stomach Julia dropped the phone. After a few seconds of blind panic, she switched into professional mode. She had to get away.

As soon as possible.


	7. Red Hair Is Better

Thank you all so much for your feedback.

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Chapter Seven:  
Red Hair Is Better**

"_Hey," Weiss came up beside them. "So, they actually let you back in."_

_A small smile crossed Dixon's face. "I'll leave you to it," he said and then walked off._

"_How are you doing?" Weiss asked._

"_So far, so good," Vaughn replied. "I just want to find her as soon as possible."_

"_We all do, Vaughn. We all do."_

_**xxxxx**_

_With a sign Julia flipped open her phone and pressed it to her ear. "Hello."_

"_Julia." It was Simon._

"_What is it?"_

"_Wherever you are, you need to disappear. Now," he hissed urgently._

"_Why?" She sat up straight. "What's going on?"_

"_The Covenant. They think that you're a threat. And you know what they do to threats."_

_Julia's throat constricted. "Why would they think that?"_

"_I don't know. But you need—" The line suddenly went dead._

"_Simon? Simon?" With a churning stomach Julia dropped the phone. After a few seconds of blind panic, she switched into professional mode. She had to get away._

_As soon as possible.

* * *

_

The Operations centre was in over drive. Agents had been tasked all over the city, searching for any sign of a woman that bore a resemblance to Sydney, and the technicians had started the daunting task of running through all security and traffic cameras in the city, hoping to catch sight of her.

"I just received intel," Dixon said as he strode into the conference room. "Echelon has picked up on several Covenant transmissions. It seems that they are searching for an apparent operative of theirs. A woman named Julia Thorne."

"And you think that Julia is Sydney?" Jack asked.

Dixon nodded. "They are centralising their search to Los Angeles. I don't see how she could be anyone else."

"We have to get to her first," Weiss said. "We cannot risk the Covenant getting to her."

"Why do they see her as a threat?" Vaughn asked.

"That we don't know," Dixon replied. "And at the moment that is not our concern. We need to focus on locating her. Then we can find out all those extra details."

* * *

Julia moved brusquely through the crowded shopping mall. Fast, but not so fast that attracted any unwanted attention. 

Spotting a disabled toilet she ducked inside and locked the door. She looked around. A sink and a hand dryer. It had everything that she needed. Without wasting another second she opened her shopping bag, filled with goodies she had souvenired from a quick dash she had just done of the supermarket.

Pulling out the towel, hair dye and scissors, Julia looked in the mirror and then went to work.

* * *

Vaughn was walking through the Operations centre when he heard somebody say his name. Turning, he saw Jack standing off to the side. 

"What is it?" he asked, walking over.

"I just…" Jack cleared his throat. "I just wanted to hear again. You really saw her, in the flesh?"

Vaughn nodded shortly. "Yes, I did."

"And you are positive that it is her?"

Vaughn hesitated for a second. "She looked right at me, but there was no recognition. But there was a distance, she may not have realized…but when I looked at her…" he trailed off, unable to finish.

With a short nod, Jack turned on his heel and walked away. There was no doubt in his mind. He was convinced that this woman was no double. She was his daughter.

And as Vaughn watched Jack walk off, he knew that, deep down, there was no doubt in his mind either.

* * *

Julia took a step back, eyeing off her reflection in the mirror. Her long tresses had been cut to just above her shoulder and as for the colour… 

Wanting to be as far away from blonde as possible, she had just grabbed the first dark coloured box off the shelf. It hadn't been until she went to open the box that she had realized she had picked a bright fire engine red. She looked like some crazy Bozo clown. But, on the other hand, she was happy with the colour. Her employers would never expect her to go with such a conspicuous hue. In this case, red hair was definitely better.

Bringing a hand up, Julia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She would have to—

'_Welcome back, Sydney_.'

She reeled back from the mirror, her eyes wide. Where had that come from? Out of nowhere her stomach started to churn with fear and determination, telling her that she needed to get to the airport and onto a plane if she were to survive.

Julia shook her head as she grabbed her bag. Of course she had to get out of the country. She knew that. So why was she telling—

'_Sydney's not telling you. She's helping you remember…you don't remember, do you?_'

Drawing in a deep breath, Julia pushed the door open, trying to clear her mind and focus. Now was not the time to let herself get distracted. She had to get herself to the airport, undetected, and get in the earliest possible flight.

As she head out to the car park, she ran through a list of possibilities. Where could she go? Where did she know well enough to be able to disappear?

'_Maybe Taipei. With that hair it will be just like old times_.'

* * *

"Guys! Uh, guys!" Marshall's' voice called across the Operations centre. "I think I got something." 

Within seconds Vaughn, Jack, Weiss and Dixon were in his office, their eyes trained to his computer screen.

"What is it?"

"Um, a red light camera picked up a car, the passenger, I mean, driver, matched Syd- Julia- whoever she is, it matched her description." Marshall replied, hitting a few keys on the keyboard. "Using other cameras, I managed to track the car to…" he paused for a second as an image of a parking lot flashed up on the screen. "Voila! Looks like she's decided to do a bit of shopping."

"How long ago did she arrive?" Jack demanded.

"About an hour ago," Marshall said.

"She's not there anymore," Vaughn suddenly said and Jack nodded in agreement.

"If she knew that she was in trouble, she'd be disappearing. She's gone there to lose a possible tail."

"And there's no way that she would get back into the same car." Vaughn said.

"Marshall, are you able to see if any cars have been reported stolen in the vicinity?" Dixon asked.

Marshall raised his eyebrows as if to say 'Come on, this is me you're asking' and then proceeded to type furiously. "Ok, there was one. About twenty minutes ago…I'll just see if I can get the number plate on a traffic cam…and follow like…might take a minute…if I can just…right…" For an excruciating few minutes, the only sound was Marshall's pounding of his keyboard. All they could do was wait until..."Got it! If she was the one who stole it, she's at…the airport." Marshall looked up, his eyes wide. "Does that mean—"

"It means its her and she's going to run," Weiss cut off. "We need to move."

"I'll notify all teams," Dixon said as they hustled out of the office. "Jack, Weiss, there is a car on stand-by. You get over there now." The two of them headed off and Vaughn went to follow, but stopped when Dixon grabbed his arm. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Oh, come on," Vaughn let out, frustrated. "You can't expect me to stay back here."

"Yes, I do," Dixon replied bluntly. "Your field rating hasn't been reinstated yet."

"Dixon, I need to go. _You _need me to go."

"Why is that?"

"Because of all those people out there looking, Jack, Weiss and myself are the ones who know Syd the best. Some of the agents have never even seen her before. She is going to be under an alias, so who do you think is going to be able to spot her in a crowd?"

Dixon hesitated for a second, until Jack spoke up.

"Dixon, we need to go. Now."

"Fine," he relented. "Vaughn, you can go."

Vaughn let out a thankful sigh. "Thank you."

* * *

Julia glanced at her watch. Fifteen minutes until her flight. She hastened her steps, glancing around. So far, the coast had appeared clear. 

She hadn't known whether to laugh or cry when she saw that the earliest flight available had been to Taipei. And there had been a few dubious moments as she purchased her ticket. But, thankfully, after examining her (fake) passport, the clerk had complemented 'Lea' on her new look and asked no questions.

And so soon she would be up in the air and, hopefully, headed to relative safety.

* * *

Vaughn and Weiss hurried through the terminals, not quite walking, but not exactly running either, their eyes intently scanning the crowd around them. 

There were dozens of agents scattered within, each and every one of them looking for the one woman, with the hope that she had not already jumped a plane.

Vaughn's heart leapt when he saw a brunette woman tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. It was the exact same way…but then she turned and Vaughn could see that it was not her.

Panic started to set in at that point. He couldn't lose her. Not now. Not again. But the chances of seeing her and being able to apprehend her were getting slimmer as each second passed. If Sydney wanted to elude capture, then she would.

Up ahead Vaughn caught a flash of something bright red and he stopped in his tracks. He could not see the woman's face, but he could see the shape of her body and the way she moved deftly through the crowd…and inside his mind was screaming that he had found her.

"Vaughn," Weiss turned around, now a few steps in front. "What are you doing?"

"The woman with the red hair. Up ahead," he replied. "It's her."

"Vaughn, how do you—"

"It's her!" Vaughn almost yelled. "Notify the team up ahead."

Weiss sighed, realizing that there would be no arguing with him. "Retriever to Omega team. Suspect in your vicinity. Bright red hair. Should be crossing your path now."

Vaughn broke out into a run as he saw the two of the agents grab the woman and pull her through a nearby door. Reaching it he saw that it was an entryway to a stairwell. Without hesitation, he pushed through it and then stopped short when he saw the woman, struggling against the agents.

"Oh my god," he whispered. Swallowing hard, he stepped forward and gently placed his hand on her cheek. It was still as soft as the last time he'd done it. "Sydney."

She did not recoil from his touch, however her eyes did widen and confusion crossed her face.

"Who's Sydney?"


	8. Not All Julia

Thank you all so much for your feedback.

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**Chapter Eight:  
****Not All Julia**

_Up ahead Vaughn caught a flash of something bright red and he stopped in his tracks. He could not see the woman's face, but he could see the shape of her body and the way she moved deftly through the crowd…and inside his mind was screaming that he had found her. _

"_Vaughn," Weiss turned around, now a few steps in front. "What are you doing?"_

"_The woman with the red hair. Up ahead," he replied. "It's her."_

"_Vaughn, how do you—"_

"_It's her!" Vaughn almost yelled. "Notify the team up ahead."_

_Weiss sighed, realizing that there would be no arguing with him. "Retriever to Omega team Suspect in your vicinity. Bright red hair. Should be crossing your path now."_

_Vaughn broke out into a run as he saw the two of the agents grab the woman and pull her through a nearby door. Reaching it he saw that it was an entryway to a stairwell. Without hesitation, he pushed through it and then stopped short when he saw the woman, struggling against the agents._

"_Oh my god," he whispered. Swallowing hard, he stepped forward and gently placed his hand on her cheek. It was still as soft as the last time he'd done it. "Sydney."_

_She did not recoil from his touch, however her eyes did widened and confusion crossed her face._

"_Who's Sydney?"_

Vaughn took a step back. He wasn't exactly sure what he had expected from this reunion, but to have Sydney look at him that way, as if he were a stranger…it was unbearable.

"Vaughn," Weiss pushed through the door, his eyes falling on Sydney. "Holy sh…Sydney."

"Look," she said. "I am not Sydney. I have no idea who Sydney is." She looked between Vaughn and Weiss, her face the picture of innocence. "I'm not the person you are looking for. I am just here to catch a plane, so why don't you let me go do that?"

"I don't think so," Weiss glanced at Vaughn before turning back to her. "We can't let you get on a plane, Miss Thorne. Or do you prefer Julia?" He fought the urge to shake his head. It felt completely surreal to be addressing Sydney in this way.

However, she did not miss a beat. "Oh, so now I'm Julia? I don't know who she is either. Look in my bag, my passport. My name is Lea."

"Please," Vaughn started. "Sydney—"

"Stop calling me that!" she let out, a look of brief agitation crossing her face. "I am not Sydney! I don't know who Sydney is!"

Vaughn went to reply, but was stopped when Weiss spoke up before him.

"Ok then, Lea," he said, realizing that they had to treat her like any other person they had apprehended. "I get you. But, if you happen to run into Julia, could you tell her something for us?"

"What? I don't even—"

"Tell her that we know her employers are looking for her," Weiss cut her off. "And that we are her to help. To protect her from them."

She remained stonily silent, and Vaughn could just picture her mind ticking at a million miles and hour.

"So Julia," Weiss leaned in close, "you can co-operate and let us escort you quietly out of the building or we'll hand you right over to the Covenant. The choice is all yours."

* * *

Dixon placed the phone back into its receiver and looked to Vaughn and Jack, who were seated in the couches in his office. "That was medical services. There is no question that the woman we have in our custody is Sydney Bristow." 

Vaughn stood abruptly. "We need to get her out of that cell."

"We can't do that," Jack said quietly.

"What?" Vaughn asked, whipping around to look at Jack. "That is your daughter in there!"

"You are not thinking clearly. All you think about is the fact that Sydney is alive," Jack said. "But she thinks that she is Julia Thorne. A Covenant operative. We cannot let her out of that cell."

"However," Dixon added, "we'll do all we can to make it comfortable for her."

Vaughn sank back down onto the couch. "So, what do we do now?"

"Medical services are planning on running tests, to determine what processes have been used and if they are reversible," Dixon replied. "Until we know exactly what has gone on, there is not all that much we can do."

"Well," Vaughn said. "Can I at least see her?"

Dixon shook his head. "Weiss is deposing her as we speak. I don't want any distractions. After he's finished, I'm sure that we can organise for you to see her."

* * *

Julia leaned against the wall of her cell, twisting a strand of hair around her finger. Something was up. When she had arrive the cell had been typically bare and barren, but a short while ago several guards has shown up, bearing pillows, blankets and even books. These privileges puzzled her. Why would the CIA not be treating her like any other old prisoner? 

"Tell me about what happened at the meet with Aidan Moreau." The man, who identified himself as Agent Weiss, asked.

"I want some hair dye," Julia said. "I'm not a big fan of this red."

"Tell me what happened at the meet and I'll get you the dye."

"What's going to happen to me?"

"I told you. We are going to protect you."

Julia let out a harsh laugh. "And you really expect me to believe that?"

"Do you really have a choice?"

She shifted her position. "Why then?" she demanded. "Why do you want to protect me?"

"Because we believe you to be an asset," Weiss replied. "Now what happened at the meet with Moreau?"

Julia sighed. "We meet, I realized that he was working with the CIA, so I put a bullet in his head. There, happy?"

"How did you know that he was working with us?"

"Because of that tracer you put on the page."

"You knew it was CIA? How?"

Julia hesitated before answering. "I had a hunch."

"A hunch? And how did you see it?"

"What do you mean 'how'? I just saw it."

Weiss made a note of something. "Interesting," he muttered.

"What?" Julia asked. "What is interesting?"

"It's nothing. What can you tell me about Simon Walker."

"I'm telling you nothing about him. Got that?" she snapped. "Simon is off limits."

"Why is that?"

"I just told you that I am not talking about him. So don't think that you can worm an answer out of me. I am no fool. I am not going to fall for any of your little mind games."

"I am not trying to play any games with you, Julia," Weiss said. "I am just trying to have a conversation with you."

"Well, I don't feel like having a conversation with you anymore."

"Julia, please—"

"No," she cut him off. "It has been a long day and I have had enough. You are getting nothing more out of me today. So just go. Now."

* * *

"She saw the tracer," Weiss reported back to Dixon. "And she knew that it was CIA. That's why she left it." 

"What else did you get?" Dixon asked.

"Not a whole lot. I asked her about Simon Walker and she clammed up. Refused to speak anymore."

Dixon pondered for a few seconds, rubbing his chin with his hand. "So, she saw Marshall's tracer?" Weiss nodded and a ghost of a smile crossed Dixon's face. "Interesting…"

* * *

Julia couldn't help but groan when two men entered her cell. One of them was older, with grey hair. The other was _him_… 

"What now?" she asked. "I told that other guy. I'm done talking."

"Here." The younger man held out a box. "It's dark brown. I hope that's ok."

Julia took the box of dye. "Thank you," she said, feeling uncharacteristically appreciative towards him.

"Uh," the older man cleared his throat. "I understand that this facility is not the most comfortable, but if you need anything, do not hesitate to ask."

Julia's eyes narrowed. "I still don't understand why you are treating me this way. There is more to this than me being an 'asset'. And," she added, "don't lie to me. I can see right through it."

The older man gave a short nod. "Yes, there is more. You will be informed as soon as possible."

Julia let out a snort of laughter. "Am I ever going to get a straight answer around this place?"

"Ask another question and find out."

"Fine. What are you names? You know mine, it's only fair."

"Jack," the older man replied.

"Mich-Vaughn," the younger one said.

Julia cocked her head and eyed him. "Vaughn?"

He nodded. "Yes."

She took a step towards him. "I saw you. At the pier and at the beach. You recognized me. How come?"

"Because you looked like somebody I used to know."

"What happened to her?"

Vaughn swallowed hard. "She died," he said, his gaze never leaving hers.

"Along with a part of you?" Julia said quietly, easily reading the anguish in his green eyes. She had meant to toy with him, play with him, but in a split second that changed. Her need to manipulate fell away, and was replaced by an urge to throw herself into his arms, to let his warmth envelope her.

Like she had before 

Vaughn registered the slight change in her expression and for a second was tempted to pull Sydney into his arms. But he stopped himself. The situation was confusing and complicated enough. He didn't want to add to that.

Jack, picking up on the tension, stepped in. "We should probably go," he said. "Remember, if you need—"

"Coffee ice cream," she cut in abruptly, sitting down on her bed.

Jack gave a short nod. "I'll see what I can do."

* * *

"Ok," Dixon said. "I just spoke to medical services." 

Jack, Vaughn, Weiss and Marshall all leaned forward slightly. "What did they say?" Jack asked.

"The news is not good. The techniques used to alter Sydney's psyche were extensive and the results are deeply ingrained. If we were to try and reverse the procedures, there is the chance that we could cause permanent brain damage."

"So what are you saying?" Weiss asked. "That either we mess with her head at a huge risk, or Syd stays as Julia?" What sort of options are they?"

"She's not all Julia," Vaughn spoke up quietly, thinking about that split second in the cell.

"He's right," Jack agreed. "Think about this. She knew to look for that tracer. She knew that it was CIA."

"And she asked for coffee ice cream," Vaughn added. "Small, yes, but it was Sydney's favourite flavour."

Dixon's face turned pensive. "What if we were to try and do this ourselves? Use us and memories of Syd to try and reverse the damage?" He turned to Marshall. "Is that possible?"

"In my opinion, yes," he replied. "There are too many complexities in human mind to be able eradicate every sense of them. Sydney would have been altered to believe a different existence, but her own existence could not have been removed entirely. Which—"

"So," Dixon cut him off, sensing he was about to go off on a Marshall tangent, "it can be done?"

"Does that really matter?" Jack demanded. "It's the only option we have."

Dixon was nodding. "We need to keep this contained- I don't want to overwhelm her." He looked at Jack and Vaughn. "Are you two up for this?"

Without a second's hesitation, the two of them replied in unison.

"Yes."


	9. The Person She Is

Thank you all so much for your feedback.**

* * *

**

**Chapter Nine:  
The Person She Is**

"_So what are you saying?" Weiss asked. "That either we mess with her head at a huge risk, or Syd stays as Julia?" What sort of options are they?"_

"_She's not all Julia," Vaughn spoke up quietly, thinking about that split second in the cell._

"_He's right," Jack agreed. "Think about this. She knew to look for that tracer. She knew that it was CIA."_

"_And she asked for coffee ice cream," Vaughn added. "Small, yes, but it was Sydney's favourite flavour."_

_Dixon__'s face turned pensive. "What if we were to try and do this ourselves? Use us and memories of Syd to try and reverse the damage?" He turned to Marshall. "Is that possible?"_

"_In my opinion, yes," he replied. "There are too many complexities in human mind to be able eradicate every sense of them. Sydney would have been altered to believe a different existence, but her own existence could not have been removed entirely. Which—"_

"_So," Dixon cut him off, sensing he was about to go off on a Marshall tangent, "it can be done?"_

"_Does that really matter?" Jack demanded. "It's the only option we have."_

_Dixon__ was nodding. "We need to keep this contained- I don't want to overwhelm her." He looked at Jack and Vaughn. "Are you two up for this?"_

_Without a second's hesitation, the two of them replied in unison._

"_Yes." _

**

* * *

"You should break it to her," Jack said to Vaughn. "Just go in there and tell her the truth. Then we can work it on it from there."**

Vaughn hesitated. "Wouldn't something like that be better coming from you?"

"She'll be more inclined to believe it if you tell her."

"But you're her father."

"No, I am not," Jack replied bluntly. "You need to get it into your head that it is not Sydney in there. It is _Julia_. And for some reason there is a part of Julia who feels a connection to you. Build on that to create some trust."

Vaughn sighed, the enormity if the task suddenly becoming a reality to him. He looked up at Jack. "Do you think that we can really do this?"

Jack nodded. "Yes." His reply was firm.

"Ok then," Vaughn said. "And just how do you propose we do it?"

A ghost of a smile crossed Jack's face. "We wing it."

**

* * *

Julia stood abruptly when two guards entered her cell, carrying a table and two chairs. Setting them down, they left without a word. Puzzled, she watched them as they walked out, her eyes falling on Agent Vaughn, who was standing behind the glass wall.**

"What's going on?" she asked.

"I thought that it was time that we had a little chat," he replied, stepping into the cell.

"What about?"

Vaughn did not reply immediately, instead sitting down at the table and placing a thick folder before him.

"Answer me," Julia demanded.

"I wanted to talk to you about why you are here. Why we apprehended you but are treating you like a criminal, as such." He paused. "I want to talk to you about Sydney."

Julia tried not to show any reaction. "Who says that I want to know anything about Sydney?"

"Ok then, fine." Vaughn made to stand. "If you don't—"

"Wait," Julia held out a hand. "I do want to know why I am here, though."

Vaughn gestured to the chair opposite him. "Then sit and I will tell you."

Julia did so, and then waited expectantly as he opened the folder, pulling out a sheet of paper.

"The reason that you are here is because you are not the person you believe yourself to be," he said. "Your name is not Julia Thorne. You are, in fact, a CIA agent."

Julia let out a loud snort. "Ok. Joke's over. Why don't you give me a real answer?"

"You are a CIA agent who went missing fifteen months ago," he said, handing over the paper. "An agent whose name is Sydney Bristow."

Julia scanned the sheet that Vaughn had handed her. It had her picture on it, and appeared to be a profile of some sort.

_ID-Class: USS-CI-2300844…Bristow, Sydney A…DOB: 04/17/75…Place of Birth: Charleston, WV, USA…Recruit, 09-2001…_

Shaking her head she tossed it back towards Vaughn. "And how is this scrap bit of paper supposed to prove those completely ludicrous things you just told me?"

"I didn't expect it prove anything," Vaughn replied calmly. "But I figured that it would be a start."

"A start to what?" Julia asked, a bemused expression on her face. "I am who I am. I know that."

Vaughn leaned back in his seat. "Are you completely sure about that?" he asked, taking a stab in the dark. "Do you really know who you are 100 per cent?"

Julia's stomach rolled. No, she wasn't. That was the whole reason she had ended up in L.A, to get some answers. But she wasn't about to let on that she was uncertain. After all, what he was telling her had to be a massive fabrication, right?

"Does anybody ever know who they really are?" she put forward, eyeing him off. "The person we were five years ago may not necessarily be the person that we are today."

"Just like the person you are today is not the person you were fifteen months ago," Vaughn said lightly.

"Look," Julia leaned forward. "Enough is enough. My name is Julia Thorne—"

"Sydney Bristow," he cut off.

"I was born in London on August 2, 1973—"

" Charleston, on April 17, 1975."

"I had two brothers—"

"You have no siblings."

"Well, you've got that right," Julia suddenly snapped, her face etched in frustration.

Vaughn's eyebrows rose slightly. "How do you mean?"

"My brothers died. My whole family did…in a house fire." She paused. "I was the only survivor."

"They had you believe that your family perished in a fire?" Vaughn said, more to himself. "Those sick bastards."

"Excuse me?"

Vaughn looked at her. "That is how the Covenant faked your death. They staged a fire at your apartment."

Julia threw up her hands. "Where are you pulling this stuff from?"

"I am not pulling it from anywhere. I am telling the truth."

"The truth? Ok then, I'll play along. Where was my supposed apartment?"

"4260 Cochran Street," Vaughn replied.

Julia stiffened. That address. It had been the apartment that she had driven to the other day. The apartment that she had looked at, but expected to appear different.

Vaughn picked up in the slight change in her demeanour. "4260 Cochran Street. Have you been there before?"

"No," she replied bluntly.

"I don't believe you."

"Well, you know what?" Julia shot back. "I don't believe you. And why should I? I don't know you and you definitely do not know me. So, why is it you think that you can tell me all this stuff? It's not as if you could even begin to answer my questions!"

"What questions do you have?" Vaughn jumped. "Do you have a lot of them?" Julia remained stoically silent. "Why don't you ask me one? Give me a shot."

"Why? So you can feed me some more lies?"

"No, so I can make things clearer for you. Make you realize that everything is not as it seems."

"Whatever," Julia scoffed as she stood up. "I think that you should go."

"Ok," Vaughn stood up, gathering the folder in his arms. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I can't wait," she replied sardonically. "Will I get to tell you who you are?"

"You can tell me whatever you want, Sydney," Vaughn chanced, waiting for Julia's vehement denial of the name.

But, whether she had not heard him or just could not be bothered arguing, it did not come.

**

* * *

Later that night Vaughn found himself back at the cell, looking though the glass as Sydney slept. No matter what the situation was, he could not bring himself to think of her as Julia.**

Hearing footsteps, Vaughn turned and saw Jack approaching. For a minute neither man spoke as they looked upon the sleeping woman.

"I saw the video from today," Jack finally said. "You did well."

"You think?" Vaughn asked, looking at him. "It felt to me like I did nothing."

"You planted the idea, you rattled her." Jack said. "And it was obvious that you hit a nerve with that address."

Vaughn sighed as his eyes fell back onto the sleeping figure. "You know," he said quietly. "When she's asleep, it's like she is Sydney. There's no pretence and she looks so…" Vaughn trailed off, not really eager to get into a conversation such as this with Jack.

However, Jack was not going to let him off the hook. "You really cared for her, didn't you?"

Vaughn glanced at him. "Pardon?"

"You heard me. Now answer me."

"Yes. Yes, I did."

Jack did not reply, but his eyes bored into Vaughn, openly scrutinizing him and making him feel slightly uncomfortable.

"What?" Vaughn asked.

"Oh nothing," Jack replied, his tone loaded. "It's just that I find it interesting that for a person who claims to have cared for Sydney a great deal proposed to another woman not even three weeks ago."

Vaughn's eyes narrowed. "Why don't you say what you really mean, Jack?"

Jack shrugged. "I only wanted to congratulate you for being able to move on so smoothly."

"Smoothly?" Vaughn's voice was hard edged. "You think that I was able to move on smoothly? You have got no idea what I went through, Jack."

"Oh, I think I might," he replied, his tone light but loaded. " Sydney is my daughter, after all."

"Then don't try and tell me how I moved on."

"But you did move on, right."

"What was I supposed to do?" Vaughn demanded through gritted teeth. "Keep on the path of self-destruction until I died as well? Or should I have stayed with the past, letting my memories turn me into a bitter and twisted man just like—" Vaughn cut off, realizing what he was about to say.

But to his surprise a ghost of a smile crossed Jack's face. "Just like me?" he said.

Vaughn paused. "You may not agree with the path that I chose, but I never stopped loving your daughter. Just as you didn't."

Jack looked at him for a few seconds and then nodded shortly. "You should probably get home. We have a big day ahead of us."


	10. You Know

Thank you all so much for your feedback- it truly makes me feel fantastic to hear that you are enjoying this fic.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Ten:  
You Know**

_Vaughn's eyes narrowed. "Why don't you say what you really mean, Jack?"_

_Jack shrugged. "I only wanted to congratulate you for being able to move on so smoothly."_

"_Smoothly?" Vaughn's voice was hard edged. "You think that I was able to move on smoothly? You have got no idea what I went through, Jack."_

"_Oh, I think I might," he replied. "Sydney is my daughter, after all."_

"_Then don't try and tell me how I moved on."_

"_But you did move on, right."_

"_What was I supposed to do?" Vaughn demanded through gritted teeth. "Keep on the path of self-destruction until I died as well? Or should I have stayed with the past, letting my memories turn me into a bitter and twisted man just like—" Vaughn cut off, realizing what he was about to say._

_But to his surprise a ghost of a smile crossed Jack's face. "Just like me?" he said._

_Vaughn paused. "You may not agree with the path that I chose, but I never stopped loving your daughter. Just as you didn't."_

_Jack looked at him for a few seconds and then nodded shortly. "You should probably get home. We have a big day ahead of us."_

* * *

The following morning Weiss arrived at Vaughn's, needing a lift to work. 

"So what's wrong with it?" Vaughn asked, in reference to Weiss's car as he looked around for his keys.

Weiss shrugged. "No idea. It just wouldn't start and I didn't have time to figure anything out. I'll look at it tonight."

"Right…aha!" Vaughn triumphantly held up his keys. "Found 'em."

"Good for you…oh," Weiss reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope. "I found a couple of photos. I know that you probably have some, but I thought they might help or whatever…"

Vaughn took the envelope, but did not look inside. "Thanks," he said quickly. "We should—" He cut off as the shrill sound of his mobile started. Sighing, he grabbed it. "Hello?"

"Vaughn, it's Dixon."

"What is it?"

"How far away are you?"

"I'm just about to leave. Why?"

"She is asking to see you, Vaughn."

"For me?" he asked, taking a few steps and picking up his briefcase.

"Yes, she—"

Static suddenly broke into the conversation. "Dixon?"

"Could you get here—"

"…_time to figure anything out. I'll look…_"

"Vaughn," Dixon did not sound impressed. "What is going on?"

Vaughn, however, had stiffened. The interference was just like that time at Sydney's. His blood felt as if it were icy cold. Who was listening in to his conversations?

Spotting a light switch to his side, Vaughn leaned in. The static grew louder.

"Vaughn, would you answer—"

"…_I thought they might help…_"

"Dixon, I'll speak to you when I get in," Vaughn said and then flipped his phone shut.

* * *

"Marshall's looking at the bug now," Dixon said to Vaughn. "And I've organised for a team to do a clean up." 

"Why me?" Vaughn pondered aloud.

"Unless Marshall can trace where it came from, I don't know if we'll ever be able to answer that." Dixon replied. "But for the time being, you need to get down to the cells."

**

* * *

**

"Good morning," Vaughn said as he walked in and placed his folder on the waiting table.

Julia stared at him, her eyes narrowed. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

Vaughn blinked. "Excuse me?"

"What right did you have to say all those things yesterday?" she demanded. "Do you really think that it's acceptable to create filthy lies?"

"You want to lecture me on what is acceptable? May I remind you what you actually do to earn a wage?"

"Don't turn this back on me." Julia snapped. "What gives you the right?"

Vaughn tried hard not to smile. If she was this riled up about what he had told her, then obviously it was having some effect.

"I have every right," he replied calmly. "Because what I told you is the truth and it's time that you go back to who you really are."

"Who I really am?" she muttered. "You know, I've experienced pain. I've been beaten and I've been tortured. I've had to run until my legs were screaming to be cut off. But I have never experienced anything like this…this insanity."

Vaughn just looked at her unblinkingly. "I know that Sydney is on there somewhere. Why don't you let her speak?"

"Why do you even care?" Julia almost screamed. "I see it in your eyes. Why are you taking this so personally?"

Vaughn drew in a deep breath as he opened up the folder and pulled out a photograph. Not one of Weiss's, but one of his own that he had brought in.

A snapshot of him and Sydney, happy and completely unaware of what was about to come for them.

"Here," he handed it over. "That is why I care so much."

Julia stared at the image. It certainly appeared to be authentic, but she wasn't about to be thrown that easily.

"This is the woman you told me about," she said, looking up. "The one who died."

Vaughn nodded. "Yes," he said quietly.

"And so because we bear a resemblance you have just decided to convince me that I am her?"

"You bear more than just a resemblance. The proof is right there in front of you."

"The truth is that you lost somebody and instead of accepting that fact you've decided to manipulate me because you cannot bear to be alone."

"That is not what I am doing."

"Well, I don't see any other logical explanation."

"I am not here to be logical." Vaughn replied. "I am here to tell you the truth. And that photo is the truth- as are all the others that I have in here."

Julia just shook her head as he pulled them out and tossed them across the table. "Photos can be altered, created. Do you really think that they're going to magically make me believe?"

"What is going to make you believe is that deep down you now that I am telling you the truth. You look into my eyes and know that I can see right through you. I may not know this Julia persona, but I know the way that you think. I know that some things confuse you. And I know that you will not be able to rest until you have the answer to every single question in your mind."

Julia's eyes narrowed. "You think that you know me that well?"

"You know that I do."

"Ok then," Julia challenged. "Who is Mountaineer?"

Vaughn blinked. Of all the questions she could have asked, that was the one that she pulled out? But he also felt a slight sense of victory. The fact that Mountaineer was in her mind had to be a good sign.

"I'm waiting."

"Mountaineer is you. Sydney. It's your CIA call name." Vaughn said.

Julia's brow furrowed. She hadn't expected him to actually give her an answer. But, then again, his reply did not really confirm anything. Maybe he was just skilled at improvising.

Standing up, Julia took a few steps away from the table. "How well do you know Sydney?" she asked, quietly.

Vaughn cleared his throat. "I would say pretty well."

"Was she neat or messy?"

"Neat."

"Did she wear a watch?"

"Of course."

"Was it broken?" Julia knew that the question sounded insane, but if there was the slightest chance that what Vaughn was saying was true, then she had to ask them. If knew as much as he claimed, then he would have an answer for her.

"No…" Vaughn trailed off, suddenly realizing what she was asking about. "That watch you are asking about is mine."

"Yours?" Julia sounded dubious.

"It was my father's. He told me that you could set your heart by it. It stopped the day we met."

Julia froze. _October 1st_. The side of her mouth started to throb, as she had a toothache.

"You know what I am talking about," Vaughn said, his voice low. "Don't you?"

Julia turned, her expression completely blank. "I have no idea."

Vaughn closed his eyes briefly. He should have known that Sydney, or Julia, would have never conceded defeat that easily.

A malicious smile crossed her face. "You think that you know so much. Well then. Answer these. What is my favourite colour? What is my favourite movie? Who was my best friend in kindergarten? Can you name any of my childhood pets?"

Vaughn stuttered as he tried to reply. She was rattling the questions off so fast that he did not have a chance to respond.

"Where did I live when I was a child? Did I take swimming lessons, or did I do ballet?"

"Do you even know the answers to these?" Vaughn suddenly asked. "Because I find it interesting that you need me to answer them."

"It doesn't matter what I know. This is about what you know," Julia snarled. "So, what was the name of my first boyfriend? Where did the scar on my pinkie come from?

Vaughn could only look at her. He would have not been able to answer these questions to her satisfaction, anyway. He knew Sydney, he would not deny himself that, but these were the little things that had eluded him during their relationship.

"You don't know, do you?" Julia was almost screaming. "Did I sleep with a teddy bear? What was my favourite book—"

"_Alice in Wonderland_." A voice came from the entry to the cell and Julia stopped short. It was the older man, Jack.

"Excuse me?"

"I said that your favourite book was _Alice in Wonderland_," he repeated.

Julia eyes him. "And what makes you think that I even own a copy of it?"

"Because I right beside you when your mother gave it to you for your 5th birthday."

Julia felt a small jolt, just about at the end of her tether. First Vaughn claiming that they had been a relationship and now Jack claiming to be her father. Were they ever going to stop?

But of course, she did not let her feelings show. Instead she just turned to Jack, her expression steely. "Oh, so that makes it true," she said, her tone etched in antipathy.

"All you need to know is that it is the truth." Jack responded calmly.

"Well, I don't suppose that you just happen to have my copy right here?"

Jack shook his head, an idea suddenly forming in his mind. "It was destroyed by the fire in your apartment."

"How convenient," Julia said, crossing her arms.

Jack turned to Vaughn. "I think that it's time for a break."

Vaughn registered his expression and stood up immediately. Telling Julia that they would return later, the two men exited the cell.

**

* * *

**

"She rejected the photos, right?" Jack said.

Vaughn nodded, as they headed down the hall. "Said that they could have been altered."

"What we need are concrete objects," Jack said. "Items that can connect to the slightest memories of Sydney…things like your watch."

Vaughn coughed. "You heard that?" he asked.

Jack just brushed him off. "The problem is that all of Sydney's belongings were destroyed in the fire."

"Are we sure of that?" Vaughn asked. "Was nothing salvaged?"

Jack stopped in his tracks. "I'm not sure. But if anything was salvageable, then there is only one person who I imagine would have them in his possession."

Vaughn's eyes widened slightly. "Will?" he put forward and Jack nodded.

**

* * *

**

Vaughn drew in a deep breath as he approached the construction suite. He had been sent in alone, to lessen any suspicion. The last thing the CIA wanted to do was risk Will's life by revealing his new identity.

Up ahead he spotted a familiar figure and stopped, not wanting to call out Will's name. Instead, he just stood and waited for him to turn around.

Two seconds later Will did so, and when his eyes fell upon Vaughn he froze, the colour draining from his face.

Slowly Vaughn walked up to him. "Hey."

"What are you doing here?" Will asked, his voice low.

"We need your help."

"Help with what?" Will asked, his puzzlement growing.

"It's to do with Sydney." Vaughn paused. "Will, she's alive."


	11. On Her Side

Thank you all for your feedback.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Eleven:  
On Her Side**

_Vaughn drew in a deep breath as he approached the construction suite. He had been sent in alone, to lessen any suspicion. The last thing the CIA wanted to do was risk Will's life by revealing his new identity._

_Up ahead he spotted a familiar figure and stopped, not wanting to call out Will's name. Instead, he just stood and waited for him to turn around._

_Two seconds later Will did so, and when his eyes fell upon Vaughn he froze, the colour draining from his face._

_Slowly Vaughn walked up to him. "Hey."_

"_What are you doing here?" Will asked, his voice low._

"_We need your help."_

"_Help with what?" Will asked, his puzzlement growing._

"_It's to do with Sydney." Vaughn paused. "Will, she's alive."_

**

* * *

**"Here you go," Vaughn placed a coffee in front of Will and then sat down. The two of them had relocated to a nearby café. And Will was yet to regain his normal colouring. 

"Thanks," he murmured, reaching for the sugar. His mind was working at a million miles an hour as he tried to digest the story that Vaughn had told him. "The fact that I wasn't actually dating Francie, that it was her double, I thought that was like the number one most insane story of all time. But…" he shook his head. "This one actually tops it."

"You're telling me," Vaughn said, raining his mug to his lips.

"So she really believes that she is this Julia person?"

Vaughn nodded. "And that is where you come in."

"Me?"

"Did you salvage anything of hers after the fire? Was there anything left at all that you could have brought here?"

Will shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry, but you saw the apartment. It was gutted. Everything was destroyed."

Vaughn slumped back in his seat. "I figured, but I just hoped…we need all the help that…" he trailed off, looking up at Will. "I know that this is a huge ask, but would you be willing to come back to L.A with me. To try and help us…"

"Do you really think that I can? Help, I mean."

"Until we get you face to face with her, I'm not sure," Vaughn replied. "Her reactions to myself and Jack have been completely different. But you were Sydney's closest friend. There has to be something that we can use you for."

Will leaned forward slightly. "When's our flight? Jonah will have to organize some time off."

"Are you sure?' Vaughn asked. "It could blow your cover."

"Vaughn," Will said. "You just told me that Sydney is alive. Screw my cover. I need to see her- regardless of who she thinks she is."

* * *

Dixon looked up after hearing a soft tap on his office door. "Yes, Marshall?" 

"Um, uh," he took a step into the office. "I finished with that bug."

"Can you trace it to who planted it?"

"Not exactly…maybe."

Dixon frowned. "Could you maybe be a little more specific?" he asked. "What exactly did you find?"

"Well, the device appeared to, instead of just transmitting messages, actually record them. Now those messages have been wiped, and since that such a device would not have those capabilities, it means that it would have to be done manually."

"Which means that whoever planted in would have to have access to Vaughn's residence," Dixon pondered. "Where is he? I'll need to get a list of cleaners, gardeners…" he trailed off, seeing Marshall who was shaking his head. "What?"

"You were right about the person having access, but not…well, when I heard, I came straight to you—"

"Heard what?"

"Um." Marshall cleared his throat. "Did I forget to mention that I was able to retrieve a few fragments of audio that had not been wiped completely, and that I was able to recreate a partial conversation?"

Dixon looked at him for a few seconds. "Yes Marshall, you failed to mention that."

"Oh." Marshall paused. "Well, I did."

"And was this conversation of anything of importance?"

"Yeah…well, let's just say that you are gonna wanna hear this."

* * *

"I'll warn you now," Vaughn said as he and Will walked into the Operations centre. "When you speak to her, its…it's hard not to think of her as Sydney, but try." 

Will stopped his steps. "What am I supposed to say to her?"

"Just follow her lead. If she asked a question, answer it. There have been times that she has shown a slight recognition in regards to something Sydney related. We are trying to build upon those moments."

Will drew in a deep breath. "Well, when do we do this?"

Vaughn looked at his watch. "In a bit. There are a few things that I need to take care of first." He pointed to a nearby door. "You'll be ok to wait in the conference room?"

Will nodded, and then headed into the room as Vaughn walked over to his desk. He had been there for about fifteen minutes when he was approached by Dixon.

"Vaughn, I need to see you in my office."

"Could it wait? I was just about to escort Will Tippin down to see Sydney."

"Jack has already taken him down," Dixon replied. "The matter that we need to discuss is urgent,"

Vaughn hesitated for a few seconds, but, taking in the seriousness of Dixon's expression, simply nodded shortly and then followed him into the office.

* * *

Julia stood, her eyes falling upon the blonde man who was standing at the entry to her cell. He was staring at her just as Vaughn had done at the airport. A looked of complete relief and unfathomable shock. 

However, instead of wondering about who this man was, Julia found herself thinking about ice cream. A sudden craving for chocolate ice cream with chocolate topping and choc chips had overcome her.

The man was still standing silent, and Julia went to take a step forward, however stopped when he suddenly turned on his heel and walked off, his steps hurried.

* * *

Jack frowned as he saw Will approaching him. "What is wrong?" 

"I couldn't…I saw her and I just freaked." Will said, running a hand through his hair. "To see somebody I thought was dead."

"I know that it's…difficult, but you are no good to us if you are not going to talk to her," Jack said, firmly. "You do want Sydney back, don't you?"

"Of course I do."

"Then turn around and walk back into that cell."

Will hesitated. "Could I just leave it a bit…maybe I could talk to you, or Vaughn some more. Prepare me a bit more."

"Agent Vaughn is tied up at the moment and there is nothing that I can say that will prepare you. So either you turn back now, or we send you back to Wisconsin for a life of anonymity. The decision is yours, Mr Tippin."

* * *

"What is this about?" Vaughn asked. 

"Marshall finished with the bug," Dixon replied. "He managed to recreate a partial conversation from your home phone."

Vaughn's brow furrowed. "Is that all? I can't imagine that any conversation on that phone would be any interesting." '_Unless it got Lauren calling her mother after I called of the engagement_,' he thought. He could only imagine what insults had been traded on his behalf.

"You need to hear this," Dixon said and then hit a key on his keyboard.

"_Hello…safe…talk…_"

Vaughn stiffened. The audio may have been broken up and slightly distorted, but the sound of Lauren's distinct accent came loud and clear to his ears.

"…_asked me…marry…yes…considering return…soon…access to NSC and CIA…move onto next phase…intel…NSC…upload to drop site…_"

The audio cut off at that point and a deafening silence fell upon the office. There was a dull ringing sound in Vaughn's ears, as he tried to wrap his head around what he had just heard.

Lauren. The person who he had thought he could have moved on with was with him only because of some hidden agenda. Those conversations that they had had, about him returning to the CIA, were churning through his mind.

"Vaughn," Dixon's voice broke into his thoughts. "I hate to ask this, but I have to. Did you have any idea that Lauren was collaborating with another party?"

Vaughn shook his head slowly. "I had no…do you know who she is speaking with?"

"No. But Marshall has hacked into her NSC files. There seems to be a few discrepancies. And several of her trips had coincided with Covenant activity. Nothing field related, but breaches in computer systems. Stuff along those lines."

"She…I…" Vaughn cleared his throat. "Excuse me, I have to go."

Without waiting for Dixon's reply he turned and marched out of the office.

* * *

"Back so soon?" Julia asked when the man appeared at the cell again. 

He nodded. "Sorry about before."

"Whatever," she waved a hand. "Let me guess, you're here to try and convince me that I am another person?"

He shook his head. "I just came by to see how you are…and maybe talk."

"That would be right. Everybody just wants to talk. What if I don't want to talk?"

"Then you don't have to." He said and then pointed to a bench along the wall. "Do you mind if I sit?"

"Well, well, well, aren't you a forward one. I don't even know your name."

"It's Will. Will Tippin."

"Let me guess. You're playing the nice cop role. Make it look as if you're on my side, and then as soon as I spill, you go and report back to your little Agency minions?"

He shook his head. "I'm not part of the Agency."

Julia tilted her head. "You're not?"

"No. But…" he paused. "I am on your side. You got that part right."

Julia did not reply, because deep down she knew that he was speaking the truth. She had no idea who he was, but there was something…comfortable about him.

"Well," she said. "I'll you stay and talk...for now."


	12. Confrontation

Thank you all so much for your feedback.

**splombie: **Unfortunately, as I do love Irina, the story line with her and Jack will not be part of the story. I decided to omit it as there was so much more that I wanted to foucs on, which is why, at the start of the story, Jack was not aware that Sydney was alive- he had not been investigating with Irina.

**vaughn is not: **Not have to worry about Lauren anymore? Don't get too excited, as you a correct with your prediction about a sub-plot with Lauren. But, that's all I'm saying for now :P

**Assilem-1: **Hey, another Melissa! Thanks for that review.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Twelve:  
Confrontation**

"_Back so soon?" Julia asked when the man appeared at the cell again._

_He nodded. "Sorry about before."_

"_Whatever," she waved a hand. "Let me guess, you're here to try and convince me that I am another person?"_

_He shook his head. "I just came by to see how you are…and maybe talk."_

"_That would be right. Everybody just wants to talk. What if I don't want to talk?"_

"_Then you don't have to." He said and then pointed to a bench along the wall. "Do you mind if I sit?"_

_"Well, well, well, aren't you a forward one. I don't even know your name."_

_"It's Will. Will Tippin."_

_"Let me guess. You're playing the nice cop role. Make it look as if you're on my side, and then as soon as I spill, you go and report back to your little Agency minions?"_

_He shook his head. "I'm not part of the Agency."_

_Julia tilted her head. "You're not?"_

_"No. But…" he paused. "I am on your side. You got that part right."_

_Julia did not reply, because deep down she knew that he was speaking the truth. She had no idea who he was, but there was something…comfortable about him._

_"Well," she said. "I'll you stay and talk...for now."_

* * *

Will left the cell feeling a little detached. He had spent the last half hour or so having a conversation with the woman who used to be his best friend, but was no longer so. 

It was something a little difficult to wrap his head around.

Up ahead he saw Jack approaching. There had been no sign of Vaughn since their arrival at Operations.

"You did fine," Jack said, stopping before Will.

"But we talked about absolutely nothing," Will replied, feeling puzzled.

"But you talked," Jack said. "To her, you are a complete stranger and yet she felt comfortable enough to speak with you."

Will sighed. "Is this really going to do anything? Is it really going to bring Sydney back?"

"I don't know," Jack said. "But it is the only option that we have, so we are going to have to make it work."

* * *

Weiss stepped outside and scanned up and down the street. Spotting the familiar figure sitting on a nearby bench, he headed across. 

"Hey."

Vaughn looked up. "Hey," he said as Weiss sat down beside him. "What are you doing out here?"

"Looking for you. Marshall told me about the recording."

"Oh."

Weiss looked at him for a few seconds. "So…"

"So…what?"

"Well, for starters, are you ok? You're not going to go off the deep end on us, are you?"

A ghost of a smile crossed Vaughn's face. "Not quite…and I am fine."

"Fine? Really?"

"Yup…well, apart from sitting here and feeling like the biggest fool on the planet."

"You're not a fool," Weiss said.

"Now how can you say that when I asked the woman I asked to marry me was only with me for some hidden agenda?"

"We don't know that for sure," Weiss said lamely in an attempt to reassure Vaughn.

"Oh, come off it, Weiss. Did Marshall tell you what the audio had picked up?" Weiss nodded. "Then stop trying to make me feel better."

"Right. Sorry."

"I just…" Vaughn ran a hand through his hair. "Why me? Why not target somebody who was involved with the Agency? She had no guarantee that I would return."

"Yes, she did," Weiss replied. "I know that this doesn't sound good on your behalf, but she was obviously a master at manipulation. She had you considering a return, and you would have done that, regardless of whether Sydney turned up or not."

Vaughn paused for a few seconds. "And once again we are back to me being a fool."

"You weren't a fool, Vaughn. You were broken, recovering from a massive loss and she exploited that. That is why you were able to move on, that is why it felt right. Because she was able to make you feel that way."

Vaughn's face suddenly paled. "I was going to marry her, Weiss. I was going to marry her."

"I know," Weiss said, quietly.

"What…who knows how long it would have lasted? What if we had gone through with it? Stayed married for years, maybe even had children. What would have happened if the truth hadn't been revealed until then?"

"But it didn't happen that way," Weiss pointed out. "It is over and that is all that matters."

Vaughn looked at him. "Is it really? Because I have the feeling that it's going to be a long time before this is truly over."

* * *

"You want me to go back?" Will asked. "But I was only there an hour ago."

"We need to keep our work constant," Jack said. "And as I said, your nice little chat before was fine, but it is time that you start to put some pressure on her."

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

"Take control of the conversation, keep it headed in the direction that you want it to go. Only focus on subjects that are Sydney related."

Will brought a hand up, rubbing the back of his neck. Perhaps I should speak to Vaughn. He's had more experience with her. He could give me some advice."

"Vaughn is dealing with an unexpected matter at the moment. He does not need to be disturbed."

"What sort of matter?" Will asked. His reporter's curiosity had never ebbed over the years.

"One that is none of your business," Jack replied sharply, his tone indicating that the subject was over. "Now, if you are ready, I will have an agent escort you to the cell."

* * *

Although she did not show it, Julia was slightly pleased when Will turned up at her cell again. He wasn't like Vaughn and Jack, trying to tell her that she was another person. He had simply spoken to her- about what she wanted to talk about. 

"Hello," she said.

"Hi," he glanced around, his expression distinctly uncomfortable and Julia was instantly suspicious.

"What is going on?" she asked.

"What is going on is that I was not completely honest with you before."

"Don't tell me that you are an agent."

He shook his head. "No."

"Then what? Did you lie about your name?"

"No," Will paused, drawing in a deep breath. "My name really is Will Tippin."

"Then what?" Julia was growing frustrated. She felt as if he were trying to manipulate her, to toy with her emotions somehow. And she hated that feeling.

"I omitted something about myself before," he continued. "Like how I was best friends with Sydney Bristow."

Julia could feel herself snap, as fury coursed through her like boiling water. Fuming, she stood and took a step towards Will. "Don't you dare think about starting on that ridiculous notion with me."

Will was startled. It was only then that he realized just how two different a people Sydney and Julia were. The only person who could have elicited such a response out of Sydney would have been…Sloane.

"Because Sydney is just a fabrication," Julia was hissing. "I know it. You and your little CIA cronies are just planting these thoughts in my head, to confuse me. To undermine me and stop me from doing my work."

"Nobody planted any thoughts," Will said. "They were all yours."

"Right." Her expression was so furious that it almost looked distorted. "And all these thoughts just happen to be questions that you can all answer. Bit of a coincidence."

"We can answer them because we all know Sydney one way or another."

"And just what do you know about Sydney?" Julia asked harshly.

"I know that she broke her leg on a camping trip when she was five. That she took piano lessons when she was six years old. I know that in the sixth grade she went through her awkward phase. I know that when she drinks tequila she gets cravings for ice cream. That she knew that 'numpce' was a real word. I know that she would risk her life to save the people that she cares about. I know that she is strong and loyal and one of the most incredible people to ever set foot upon this earth." He paused, taking a breath and looking into the eyes that used to smile back warmly at him. But that was no longer the case. They were cold, hard. Eyes that belonged to a stranger. To a person who was not worthy.

"And I know a lot more about Sydney," Will continued, his voice low. "But its time that you realize something. You are in a complete state of delusion. Julia does not exist. She never has. So why don't you just give up this fight and accept who you really are. Because there are so many people who want Syd back. People who love her. Julia has none of that." He looked her directly in the eyes, suddenly; furious that she was the one stopping Sydney from making her return. "And you know just as well as I do that Julia is not with the oxygen that she breathes."

Julia straightened, her expression turning oddly blank. Almost disconnected. Slowly she took a step towards Will. "I'll show you what I am worth," she said and with that, she lunged at him.

* * *

Weiss pushed the door to Dixon's office open. "How's Tippin?" he asked Jack, Dixon and Marshall, who were all seated around the room. 

"Concussed and bruised," Jack replied. "Medical services are keeping him overnight for observation, but he should be fine. The guards intervened before any serious injury could be caused."

"However, what this incident tells us is that we are not progressing as well as we hoped," Dixon said. "There does not seem to be any change in Thorne. If so, she would never have attacked Tippin."

"Hang on," Weiss jumped in. "We've only be at this a few days. Surely we need to give it time."

"I don't think time is going to help us here."

"Uh," Marshall spoke up, raising his hand as if in primary school. "I…may I?"

Dixon nodded. "Go ahead."

"I've been doing some reading on memory modification. Fascinating subject. There was this one case of a man who…" he trailed off, as Dixon shot him a 'Get on with it' look. "Sorry, uh, anyway, with Syd- Miss Thorne…or just Thorne? That Thorne lady? Whoever she is, I think that what we are discussing with her is too, well, ah, nice."

Jack blinked. "Too nice?"

"Uh huh," Marshall nodded vehemently. "I think that what is happening is that the memories you are reiterating to her, she is like, in a way, digesting them and making them into Julia's. They are things that she can digest because they are not threatening."

"What are you trying to say Marshall?" Dixon asked. "That we need to scare her?"

"Not scare her, just confront her."

"With what?" Weiss put forth.

"With memories of Syd's that are unpleasant. Memories that have the ability to cripple, destroy a person."

"And you think that it would shatter the illusion of Julia?" Jack asked.

"Yes! You saw the way she reacted when Will confronted her. That is how she deals- with violence. Unlike a person, she cannot attack a memory. And if she cannot deal, then maybe…"

Dixon leaned back. "It sounds ludicrous…but, I like it. The only question is, how exactly do we do this?"

Jack turned to him. "I can't believe you even need to ask that. You know damn well who we need."

Dixon paused and then nodded shortly. "Can we trust him on this?"

Jack shrugged. "We don't have a choice."


	13. Holding The Cards

Thank you all for your feedback.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Thirteen:  
Holding the Cards**

"_Uh huh," Marshall nodded vehemently. "I think that what is happening is that the memories you are reiterating to her, she is like, in a way, digesting them and making them into Julia's. They are things that she can digest because they are not threatening."_

"_What are you trying to say Marshall?" Dixon asked. "That we need to scare her?"_

"_Not scare her, just confront her."_

"_With what?" Weiss put forth._

"_With memories of Syd's that are unpleasant. Memories that have the ability to cripple, destroy a person."_

"_And you think that it would shatter the illusion of Julia?" Jack asked._

"_Yes! You saw the way she reacted when Will confronted her. That is how she deals- with violence. Unlike a person, she cannot attack a memory. And if she cannot deal, then maybe…"_

_Dixon leaned back. "It sounds ludicrous…but, I like it. The only question is, how exactly do we do this?"_

_Jack turned to him. "I can't believe you even need to ask that. You know damn well who we need."_

_Dixon paused and then nodded shortly. "Can we trust him on this?"_

_Jack shrugged. "We don't have a choice."_

* * *

The ringing of Jack's mobile stopped him, as he was about to approach the secretary before him. 

"Hello."

"It's Dixon. I've just spoken to Langley. They have approved admission. Bring him in ASAP."

"Got it," Jack flipped the phone shut and took a step forward. "Jack Bristow for—"

"Go right through, Mr Bristow," the secretary cut him off. "He is expecting you."

Jack nodded and then proceeded through to the office. In the doorway hr paused for a second, waiting for the occupant to look up.

"Hello Arvin," he said quietly.

Sloane looked up, a smile on his face. "Jack. It's been a long time."

"Not long enough," Jack replied bluntly.

Sloane's smile did not falter. "So, what have I done to deserve the pleasure of your presence?"

"The CIA needs you in L.A. I am here to escort you." Jack paused. "And remember that any refusal on you behalf nullifies that handy little pardon agreement of yours."

"I would never dream of it," Sloane replied. "But, may I ask why I am needed?"

"Everything will be explained in L.A."

* * *

Vaughn strode into the cell. "I need to ask you a question." 

Julia scowled at him through narrowed eyes. "Get lost."

"I am asking you a question and you are going to answer it!" Vaughn yelled.

"I am not—"

"Do you know a woman called Lauren Reed?"

Julia blinked, obviously taken aback. "What? No cryptic stuff about Sydney?"

"I asked you a question- now answer it," Vaughn demanded.

Julia could not help but smile. She had never seen him so frazzled before. For the first time she was the one who held all the cards. "Why do you want to know about Lauren?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"So you know her?" he pressed.

"I never said that," she replied lightly.

"Please," Vaughn said, his voice low.

"Fine," Julia sighed heavily. "I don't know her personally- she's currently under deep cover. I'm not sure what her exactly assignment is, but some of her intel has lead to several of my own…'assignments'."

Vaughn seemed to stiffen. "So, she is a member of the Covenant?"

"I just said that, didn't I?"

"And she provided you with details which lead you to carrying out executions?"

"Did I stutter? Do I need to repeat everything?" Julia asked exasperatedly. "Anyway, what is the big deal—"

She cut off as Vaughn turned on his heel and, without another word, exited the cell.

"Hey!" she called after him, but he did not reply and just continued walking. "Oh yeah, that would be right. When you want to talk, it's free for all, but when I want to talk to you, you just walk away!"

With a frustrated sigh she slumped down onto the bench. She's had more than enough of this place.

* * *

The small interview room was bare, and the lighting dim. It was silent as Sloane stared at Jack and Dixon who were seated opposite him. 

"You're telling me that Sydney is alive? And in this facility?"

Jack nodded. "And we need you to talk to her."

"About what?"

"About everything that you did to her," Dixon replied, his voice cold. "To her friends. To her colleague's…"

Sloane leaned back in his seat, a faint smile on his face. "Why would you want to have a conversation like that?"

"Because, in her mind, she is not Sydney," Jack said. "She believes that she is a Covenant operative going by the name of Julia Thorne."

Sloane frowned. "Are you sure that it is her?"

"Are you saying that you authorized a third double? Not the just the two that we were aware of?" Dixon asked.

"I said nothing of the sort," Sloane replied calmly. "It is just that the protocol is out there. It is a possibility."

"And one that has been disproved," Jack said. "The woman we have in our custody is Sydney. She just doesn't know it."

"So then," Sloane rubbed his chin. "How exactly am I supposed to help?"

"By doing exactly what we tell you."

* * *

As the days passed since the engagement had been broken off, Lauren found herself growing more and more consumed by a seething anger and hatred inside of her. 

That woman had destroyed everything. Her deep cover task with Michael Vaughn was going to be her ticket into the inner sanctum that was the Covenant. She was sick of being on the outer, sick of having to blindly follow orders. In the hierarchy of power, she was situated on the lowly bottom blocks.

But then came along the abduction of Sydney Bristow and the opportunity of a weakened Michael Vaughn. it was to be her chance to prove herself. To show how worthy she was to the organization.

And it was working. Her position at the NSC had only proven her abilities more. She had leaked valuable intel without ever raising suspicion. She had Vaughn considering a return to the CIA. She had a rock on her finger.

And then her so-called superiors had lost track of Thorne and everything was blown. The mission and her chances of rising through the ranks.

And that was not something that Lauren was going to be able to forget easily.

* * *

"Her cell is closely monitored," Jack said to Sloane, his voice somewhat tight. "So don't even think about trying anything." 

"Please give me a little credit, Jack. Do you take me for a fool?"

"No Arvin, I take you for a man who cannot be trusted."

"And yet you still turned to me for help."

Jack turned to him, his eyes narrowed. "Do not mistake me asking you for help as a sign of forgiveness or trust. You are simply a last ditch effort."

Sloane let out a soft laugh. "I can always count on you to be blunt."

* * *

"Hello Sydney." 

Julia froze. Her back was to the entrance of the cell, so she had not seen who had spoken, but the voice had sent chills down her spine, setting her nerves on edge.

Turning slowly she came face to face with him. He did not appear threatening, with his weathered face and small build. But in his eyes was a deep cruelness. One that not even Julia could fathom and she had done her fair share of awful things.

"Who are you?" she whispered. He had only spoken two words, yet Julia knew that she would rather have Vaughn in here spouting his lies, than be in the presence of this man.

"You know exactly who I am," he said.

She shook her head. "No, I don't. So could you please leave. Now."

"No."

Julia sized him up. It had taken all of five seconds for the guards to intervene last time. She wondered how much damage she could cause this man in that amount of time.

"You really don't know who I am?" he pressed. "You don't remember Arvin Sloane?"

"_Listen to me, you son of a bitch! You have been a plague on my life. You repulse me! Every time I sat across from you, listening to your lies, all I could do was fantasize about slashing your throat!"_

"Get out," Julia demanded.

"You don't remember what I did to you?"

"You have done nothing to me."

"I lied to you Sydney. I betrayed you. For years. You trusted me and all I was doing was using you for my own personal gain."

"So? It's not like I've never done anything like that before."

He took a step forward, and Julia shrank away from him. She didn't want him near her. There was just something about him that made her feel…not like herself.

He was continuing to speak, but Julia was not taking it all in. Occasionally she caught the odd word, making her feel more and more uneasy. Why was he making her feel this way?

"What about Danny?"

The slight pounding in Julia's head was growing louder. Bringing a hand up to her temple, she shook her head. Whoever Danny was she didn't want to speak about him. Especially not with the man in front of her.

"I had him killed. You remember, don't you? Coming home and finding him, dead. Any chance of a future with him gone."

A loud scream filled Julia's head as the metallic scent of blood assaulted her senses. Her worst nightmare now a reality. She had caused this. This was her fault. She had broken the one rule that you did not break.

The screaming continued, and Julia felt as if her head were about to split in two. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to ease the pain and the noise, but it was all in vain.

"And Francie. You don't know what I did to her yet do you? Allison Doren put a bullet in her brain. She had no funeral. She was buried in a cold and unmarked grave. How is your friend supposed to rest in please when nobody even knew that she was dead?"

Julia shook her head violently. "Stop it," she hissed. "Stop it."

"She lived with you for months. You trusted her. And she was working for me. There was no way that I could leave you alone Sydney. There was no way that I could let go of all the control that I had over you."

"You never controlled me." Julia spat out, surprising herself.

"But I could always hurt you, Sydney. I did not care if I caused any pain. But you, oh you most certainly did."

"_No Agent Bristow, you killed him…I just wanted to rip his finger right off again…'Bringing them to justice.' I love that -- Arvin Sloane talking about justice…That was the extent of his concern. It was as if someone had overcooked his steak…She would have killed you for a lot less…Seeing the kind of woman you've become, knowing that I had something to do with it... that's as rewarding as if I had a child of my own…"_

"No, no, no," she muttered. The screaming was getting louder. She had to get out. He had to get out. She wanted this to stop.

"You're remembering now, aren't you? All that pain and all that hurt. You're feeling it; it's coursing through you. Crippling you."

"You could never do that to me," Julia suddenly hissed. "What you did just made me stronger."

"I lied to you. I killed your best friend. I killed you fiancé. I…"

His voice drowned out as the screaming took over completely. It was only when she dropped to her knees that Julia realized that it was her who was screaming. And as she clamped her hand over her mouth, to try to contain herself, the world around her slowly faded to black.

* * *

"Hey Weiss," Vaughn walked up to him. "Where's Jack?" 

"He took Sloane down to see Sydney. He should be heading back up now."

Vaughn stopped dead. "He did what?" he exclaimed.

"He took…" Weiss trailed off. "Did you not know that we brought Sloane in? How could you not know?"

"Forgive me for being slightly distracted lately," Vaughn said. "What is Sloane supposed to be doing?"

"Well, I guess we're using the worst of Sydney's past to try and bring her back."

"By using Sloane?" Vaughn asked and Weiss nodded. "And what is this does work? What will that do to Sydney?"

"Um…" Weiss paused, obviously stumped. "I'm not sure…"

"Yeah, well I have a fair idea," Vaughn said. "And there is no way that she should be out through that alone."

* * *

Vaughn could hear screaming as he dashed down the hall, however as he neared the cell they suddenly cut short. "I got it," he called to the guards who were making their moves. 

Arriving at the cell he saw Sloane standing there, simply staring at Sydney, who was crumpled on the floor.

"What did you do?" Vaughn demanded. He was caught between the need to tend to Sydney, and urge to wrap his hands around Sloane's neck.

"What I was told," Sloane replied calmly.

"Well, you've done enough," Vaughn shot back, pushing him back towards the entrance. "Get out." He watched as Sloane turned and walked away and then crouched down beside Sydney. "Hey," he said gently pulling her into his arms. "Sydney? Wake up for me, Syd."

Slowly her eyes fluttered open, connecting with his own. "Vaughn?"

Shock coursed through Vaughn as he realized that he had called her Sydney, and that she had responded. "Sydney?"

She struggled to sit up, bringing a hand to her forehead. "Who else would I be…" she trailed off as she looked around, taking in her surroundings. "Vaughn."

"Yeah?" he asked, barely able to contain his elation and relief. She was back. Whatever Sloane had done, it had obviously worked.

"How did I get here?"


	14. Back

Thank you all so much for your feedback.

**UConn Fan: **Thank you so much for those comments- they were a real confidence boost.

**vaughnfan: **There will be exactly 26 chapters in this fic (and they are already written).

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Fourteen:  
Back**

_Vaughn could hear screaming as he dashed down the hall, however as he neared the cell they suddenly cut short. "I got it," he called to the guards who were making their moves._

_Arriving at the cell he saw Sloane standing there, simply staring at Sydney, who was crumpled on the floor._

"_What did you do?" Vaughn demanded. He was caught between the need to tend to Sydney, and to wrap his hands around Sloane's neck._

"_What I was told," Sloane replied calmly._

"_Well, you've done enough," Vaughn shot back, pushing him back towards the entrance. "Get out." He watched as Sloane turned and walked away and then crouched down beside Sydney. "Hey," he said gently pulling her into his arms. "Sydney? Wake up for me, Syd."_

_Slowly her eyes fluttered open, connecting with his own. "Vaughn?"_

_Shock coursed through Vaughn as he realized that he had called her Sydney, and that she had responded. "Sydney?"_

_She struggled to sit up, bringing a hand to her forehead. "Who else would I be…" she trailed off as she looked around, taking in her surroundings. "Vaughn."_

"_Yeah?" he asked, barely able to contain his elation and relief. She was back. Whatever Sloane had done, it had obviously worked._

"_How did I get here?"_

Vaughn could only stare at Sydney. What did she mean?

"Vaughn." Sydney started to pull away from his, her expression etched with confusion. "What am I doing here?"

"You don't remember?" Vaughn asked, finally finding his voice.

She shook her head. "I've no…I was at home and—" she suddenly cut off, inhaling sharply. "Will! Is he ok? Francie, she was the double. She's the—"

"I know," Vaughn said gently. "And Will is fine."

Sydney visibly sagged with relief. "I thought that he was dead…" she trailed off as Vaughn stood up, his brow creased with concern. "Vaughn. What is it?"

"Uh…" he paused, wondering how he should word his next question. "That night, after I dropped you off. That's the last thing you remember?"

"What do you mean by 'that night'?" Sydney asked, standing up. "It was only…well, I guess it was only last night. Which brings me back to my original question- why am I here in this cell?"

"Sydney…you…" Vaughn brought a hand up and rubbed his eyes. Drawing in a deep breath, he looked at her. "We thought you were dead."

Her eyes widened slightly and she seemed to start a little. "What?"

Vaughn gestured to the bench. "Perhaps you should sit down."

"Yeah, perhaps." Sydney muttered as she did so. As Vaughn sat down next to her, she looked at him accusingly. "Why would you think that I was dead?"

"Sydney, that night, when you discovered the truth about Francie…" he hesitated. "That night was over fifteen months ago."

Sydney reeled as her face paled. "Vaughn…what…I don't understand."

"There was a fire at your apartment. Will survived…but you…they found remains. The DNA…was a match. You were dead."

Sydney was gripping the edge of the bench with her hands and leaning forward slightly, as if she were trying to steady her breathing. "I don't…remember," she was shaking her head. "Who would do that?"

"The Covenant," Vaughn replied.

Sydney looked up. "Who are they?"

"A new group, hostile to the United States. They started to establish themselves soon after your disappearance…I think."

"You think?"

"I left the Agency after you…I only returned when we discovered that you were alive."

"How?"

"You were photographed…working for the Covenant."

She closed her eyes briefly, running a hand through her hair. "I was operational? That is impossible. There is no way that I would work for—"

"You weren't," Vaughn cut in. "They programmed you, or brainwashed or whatever you want to call it. You spent your missing time believing yourself to be a woman called Julia Thorne. You've been here for a few days as we try to reverse the process."

Sydney had been watching Vaughn intently as she took in what he was saying. It was incomprehensible. "What a way to wake up," she muttered.

Without a word Vaughn wrapped his arms around her. He could not even begin to imagine what she was going through. A she let out a loud sigh; he gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face. It was probably at that second that the realization truly hit him. It was Sydney. She was sitting beside him, in his arms. Sydney was back.

"Vaughn, I…" Sydney's voice faltered.

"Yeah."

"I…I've really been gone that long?"

He nodded. "Yes."

Her face crumpled. "It's not…it's not…" It was all that she could manage to get out before the tears started to fall.

"I know," Vaughn said, pulling his arms tighter around her. "Believe me, I know."

They stayed like that for a minute or so, when Vaughn noticed a movement by the entry to the cell. After glancing up, he pulled slightly away form Sydney.

"Syd."

"What?" she looked up, wiping her eyes. He simply pointed over her shoulder. With her brow creased slightly, she turned and saw who he was pointing at.

"Dad." Without a second's hesitation, Sydney stood and walked across, allowing Jack to embrace her in a tight hug.

"Hello sweetheart," he whispered. "It's good to have you back."

* * *

Will looked up as a guard entered his bedroom. He had been at the CIA safe house since being released from medical services. He has been assuming that he would be sent back to Wisconsin, but apparently the CIA wanted to keep him around for a few more days, in the hope that he still might be able to help in regards to Sydney. 

Will, however, was more than a little apprehensive about returning to that cell. Being attacked was not something that he wanted to experience again.

"You've got a visitor," the guard announced.

Will stood up and Eric Weiss walked in. spotting Will's bruises, he grimaced slightly. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," Will replied, feeling anxious. "Um, do you need me back at Operations…"

Weiss was shaking his head. "No, but you may want to come down in the next couple of days, anyway."

"What do you mean?"

Weiss's face broke into a large grin. "She's back."

* * *

Apart from the many unfamiliar faces, the Operations centre looked the same as ever to Sydney as she walked though, towards Dixon's office. 

There were many stares in her direction, however with Vaughn and jack walking by her sides, she felt string enough to ignore them.

"Syd," Dixon's face broke into a grin as she walked into the office. "It's good to see you."

She smiled back. It was a little strange to see him behind a giant desk. He was Dixon, her partner. Not Dixon, the director. "It's good to see you, too."

His expression turned somewhat wry. "You may not be saying that soon."

"Why?"

"Well," Dixon started. "For your protection, I can't let you leave this facility."

"What?" Sydney was alarmed. "You can't do that."

"Sydney," Jack put a hand on her shoulder. "The Covenant is currently engaged in a search for Julia Thorne. For some unknown reason, we believe that they have turned on her. Until we can guarantee you safety, we think it best that you stay here. A safe house is too risky. They can always be compromised."

Sydney slumped down onto one of the couches. "I understand why you want me here, but…everything is just a mess for me at the moment. I want- need to start rebuilding my life and there is no way that I can do it here."

"Syd, please." Vaughn spoke up. "Just give us a couple of days to suss out the situation and figure out our next move. We've only just got you back. We can't lose you again."

Sydney looked at him. In his eyes she caught a glance of the emotions that he must have experienced over the past months. "Fine," she relented. "I'll stay. But if I got stir crazy, you can only blame yourselves."

Dixon smiled. "I'm sure that we can find plenty to occupy you with."

"Well, just one more question," Sydney started. "As there is not a chance that I am returning to that cell, where am I going to sleep?"

* * *

"Nice digs," Vaughn commented, glancing through the door. 

Sydney looked at him. "Well, I'm glad that somebody here thinks that."

The small conference room was not as readily used as the others, and so it had been allocated as Sydney's makeshift room for the next couple of days.

"Well, I think that I might be able to cheer you up," Vaughn said.

"How?" Sydney demanded.

"I've got a visitor for you." He stepped back through the door and motioned to someone. A second later Will appeared by his side.

"Oh my god. Will." Sydney gasped jumping up and running across, almost knocking him off his feet as she threw her arms around him.

"Hang on," Will took a step back. "I want to get a good look at you."

Her face broke into a grin. "I can't belive that you are ok."

"That feeling is completely mutual."

Vaughn smiled to himself as he turned quietly and walked away, leaving the two friends alone with their reunion.

* * *

"I wish he could have stayed," Sydney murmured later on. Will had left about an hour ago, and Vaughn had arrived not long after. 

"He had to go, Syd," Vaughn replied. "For his own safety."

"Hey, I understand that. But that doesn't mean that I have to like it."

Vaughn smiled. "Got it."

"So," Sydney shifted in her seat. "Enough of all the craziness surrounding me. What have you been up to these past months?"

Before Vaughn got a chance to answer, Jack walked into the room.

"We may have a way of getting the Covenant off Julia's trail," he announced. "I've just been speaking with Dixon. We believe that we have something pretty solid."

"What are we doing?" Sydney asked eagerly. The sooner she could get out into the real world, the better.

"Not we, Vaughn," Jack said bluntly.

Vaughn looked up, a sinking feeling forming in the pit of his stomach when he saw the expression on Jack's face. "What do you want me to do?"

"We think it best that you contact Lauren. Tell her that you want to talk. in that conversation you will reveal that Sydney has returned and that she has no memory of the past fifteen months. She has no idea that you know the truth and will have no reason to suspect your motives."

Vaughn was nodding mutely, trying to ignore the feeling of Sydney's eyes burning into the side of his face.

"I'll let Dixon know that you have agreed," Jack said, turning on his heel and walking away.

Slowly, Vaughn turned around to face Sydney. Her expression was etched with curiosity and he unconsciously held his breath, waiting for it.

And as expected, he did not have to wait all that long. If there was one thing predictable about Sydney, it was that she liked to be in the know. And in this case, he was well aware, she deserved to be in the know.

"Vaughn," she started. "Who's Lauren?"


	15. Just In Time

**Chapter Fifteen:  
Just in Time**

_Vaughn looked up, a sinking feeling forming in the pit of his stomach when he saw the expression on Jack's face. "What do you want me to do?"_

"_We think it best that you contact Lauren. Tell her that you want to talk. in that conversation you will reveal that Sydney has returned and that she has no memory of the past fifteen months. She has no idea that you know the truth and will have no reason to suspect your motives."_

_Vaughn was nodding mutely, trying to ignore the feeling of Sydney's eyes burning into the side of his face._

"_I'll let Dixon know that you have agreed," Jack said, turning on his heel and walking away._

_Slowly, Vaughn turned around to face Sydney. Her expression was etched with curiosity and he unconsciously held his breath, waiting for it._

_And as expected, he did not have to wait all that long. If there was one thing predictable about Sydney, it was that she liked to be in the know. And in this case, he was well aware, she deserved to be in the know._

"_Vaughn," she started. "Who's Lauren?"_

* * *

Sydney stared intently at the computer screen, but she was not paying all that much attention to the words before her. She was more concerned with making sure that she was sending off major 'Stay away' vibes. She was not in the mood to talk to anyone. It was the last thing that she wanted to do. After yesterday, all she wanted to do was find some small personal space of her own and crawl into it. 

For the most part, the vibes that she was sending off were doing their job. People were leaving her alone. That is, except for the one person that no vibes would ever be able to keep away.

"Hey Syd," Weiss said as he sat himself down on the edge of the desk. "What are you doing?"

Sydney glanced up at him, glad that he hadn't opened the conversation with the one thing that she assumed he would have. "Just looking through some files on the Covenant, trying to see if anything strikes a chord. Hopefully find out exactly what I've been up to for these past months."

"Oh right. Well, good luck with that," Weiss said, as his brow furrowed slightly. "Hang on. You need clearance to read those. You haven't been reinstated yet. How…"

A small mischievous smile crossed her face. "Does the name Jack Bristow ring a bell?"

Weiss grinned. "Right. Should have guessed that Daddy dearest played a part in this," he said. "Find anything?"

Sydney shook her head. "I never expected to. I just need something to distract me from…everything."

Weiss's eyebrows rose slightly. "So…"

Sydney eyed him and sighed. "Right come out with it. I don't want any of this leading into the conversation crap."

"Ok then. I spoke to Vaughn. He said that he told you about Lauren."

Sydney stiffened. She didn't even know this woman but she still hated the sound of her name. "Yes. Yes, he did."

"And?"

"And what? What do you expect me to say?"

Weiss shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe let me in on what's going on in that little mind of yours?"

"Oh, I think that it should stay in there for the time being."

"Why? So you can let it eat away at you?" Weiss said, a shrewd look in his eyes. "Just let me in, Syd. I am your friend in all of this, remember?"

Sydney sighed. "To be honest, there is too much going on for me to even begin to talk. So much anger and confusion and pain- and not just to do with Vaughn. It's with everything. Francie and Will being gone, Sloane being a free man...just how did _that _happen?...and now..."

"Ok, I get there's a lot going on," Weiss replied. "But, what about just with Vaughn? Don't bottle it up, Syd."

"I'm not sure…all I know is that it hurts. I know that I 'died' and that Vaughn was in no way betraying me. But, I don't know…" she shrugged. "A little part of me can't help but feel if it had been the other way around I would have waited."

"Syd," Weiss put a hand on top of hers. "When Vaughn found out that you were dead, he dropped off the face of the earth. I mean, literally, Syd, he…he was…he was out of the country for, like, _six months_. You need to know that he was not cavalier about moving on."

Sydney paused thoughtfully for a few seconds. "Knowing that, it still doesn't make it any easier. To me, it was only yesterday that we were planning to go to Santa Barbara. And now, I find out that he was actually engaged to another woman."

"Yes, to a woman who was manipulating him for her own gain," Weiss pointed out. "You know more than most how persuasive a person can be in that situation. He was utterly devastated when you died and Lauren played that to her advantage."

"How…how is he doing with all of that?" Sydney asked. "I never…"

"He's doing ok, I think. A large part of him is just thankful that he broke it off before marrying her."

"Why did he break it off?" Sydney asked and Weiss looked at her, surprised.

"He didn't tell you?"

She shook her head. "No."

"He realized that he couldn't got through with it. Because he wasn't over you."

"What made him realize that?"

"He started seeing a woman who resembled you," Weiss said with a small smile. "He thought that it was some kind of a sign, but that woman was actually you. You returned just in time, Syd. You returned just in time."

* * *

Vaughn raised his phone to his ear, drawing in a deep breath. As each ring passed he grew more and more helpful that she would not answer. Yes, he knew that he would have to speak with her eventually, but the more he could put it off the better. 

"Hello."

Vaughn's stomach rolled as he brisk and clipped voice came over the line. "Lauren," he managed to get out.

"Yes," she replied.

"Lauren, it's Michael."

There were a few seconds of loaded silence on the other end of the phone. "What do you want?"

"I wanted a chance to meet with you. To talk."

"And why should I agree to that?" she demanded, somewhat huffily.

"Because…because I feel like I owe you a proper explanation. I did not justify my actions…well, not adequately anyway. I know that seeing me is the last thing that you would want, but I really need you to hear what I have to say. It might make it a little easier- on both of us."

"Let me get this straight. You want to explain to me, in order to ebb your guilt?"

"Uh…" Vaughn paused. "I guess that is part of it."

"Oh." Lauren sounded surprised. As if it were the answer that she wanted, but not the one she expected to receive. And it must have endeared her slightly to hear him give a (supposedly) truthful answer, because the next thing she said was, "Well, I suppose I can spare fifteen minutes over lunch. 12.30, at Lake's."

"I'll be there."

"You had better be, because I am not waiting." And with that she slammed the phone down.

Exhaling deeply, Vaughn went to place the phone back in its receiver, however froze when he saw Sydney approaching his desk.

"Hi," she said quietly.

"Hi." He was surprised to see her approach him in such a public arena. Nothing had been communicated between the two since he had revealed to her that he'd met somebody else in the past months.

"Was that—"

"Yeah," Vaughn cut her off. For some reason he did not want to hear Sydney say Lauren's name.

"Oh." Sydney paused. "Look, I just want to say thank you."

"You do? For what?"

"For what you are about to do. I know that seeing…her is probably the last thing you want to do, after what she did. And I know that you are doing this for my safety, for my protection. So, I want to say thank you."

"You don't have to…"Vaughn trailed off as Sydney raised an eyebrow at him. "Ok, ok. You're welcome."

Sydney gave a short nod, a small smile playing on her lips. "So…I just had a chat with Weiss."

"You're not the only one."

"How does he do it? Play the rock for each and every one of us?" Sydney wondered aloud and Vaughn shrugged.

"One of the many mysteries shrouding our Weiss."

"Yes…" Sydney's expression sobered. "I think that we need to be able to talk, Vaughn. I don't want things to be weird."

"I don't either."

"Good," Sydney nodded and then made to walk off.

"Hey," Vaughn stopped her. "That's it? You say you want to talk, and then you just leave?"

"I didn't say now, Vaughn. I just thought that I should have raised the point."

"Right," Vaughn could not help but smile as he watched her stride away.

* * *

"Sydney." Lauren could not keep the antipathy out of her voice. "I knew that it had to do with her. When are you going to stop letting your dead girlfriend—" 

"She's not dead," Vaughn cut her off.

Lauren stared at him over the small coffee table. So the CIA had discovered the truth and informed him. They had moved fast on this one. "Excuse me?"

"Sydney is alive, Lauren."

"How can that be?" Lauren asked, playing her part perfectly.

"I don't know. The CIA found her days ago- she was picked up by chance on one of their security cameras. I believe that she was in LA for sometime before that."

"Why?" Lauren asked, slightly distracted. He was talking as if it were really Sydney, and not Julia Thorne. What had happened?

"Because I saw her. At first I thought it was my mind…but then, when the CIA told me she was alive…I'm back working for them now."

"Like I care about that now, Michael," Lauren couldn't help but snap. It didn't matter to her now that he had made a return. "What happened to Sydney? Where has she been?"

Vaughn shrugged. "We have no idea. She has no idea. When we brought her in she was disorientated, she had no idea who she was. Not long after she collapsed and was out for hours. When she woke, she thought that she was coming to after the fight she had with Allison Doren. The night her apartment burnt down."

Lauren eyed him. "She has no memory?"

Vaughn shook his head. "None whatsoever…" he trailed off, sighing. "Lauren, I am sorry about this, for what I did. But you deserve somebody who will love you with everything they have." It took all of his willpower not to blanch when he said that. "And even if Sydney had not turned up alive, I'm not sure if I would have been able to do that."

Lauren barely head what he was saying. Sydney had no memory of the past fifteen months? No idea of who she had been living as and the work that she had been doing?

She hid a smile to herself. If that were the case, then Sydney would be extremely vulnerable at the moment. And vulnerable meant easier to take out.

* * *

"We have made the decision to leave Bristow alone." 

"What?" Lauren spat, as she fought the urge to throw her mobile across the room.

"She is no longer a threat. She was just an experiment, to see how powerful the procedures were. Obviously, they need tweaking."

"And so she goes free?" Lauren asked incredulously.

"She has no purpose for us anymore."

"And what about my purpose?" Lauren demanded. "What am I supposed to do now that my assignment has been hijacked by Princess Back From the Dead?"

"Just wait. We'll contact you when something comes up. But for now, all we need you to do is continue your work within the NSC."

Furiously Lauren snapped her phone shut. Wait until something came up? Stay in her boring position at the NSC? Like hell she would. There was only one job that she would be doing and there was only one person who she knew would be willing to help.


	16. Similar Desire

Thank you all so much for your feedback.

**kiefer4ever and s: **Nice guesses with Sark, but I'll tell you now, it's not him Lauren is contacting. Afterall, he was incarcerated at the end of season 2 (that's not to say that he won't be making an appearence...)

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Sixteen:  
Similar Desire**

_Lauren barely head what he was saying. Sydney had no memory of the past fifteen months? No idea of who she had been living as and the work that she had been doing?_

_She hid a smile to herself. If that were the case, then Sydney would be extremely vulnerable at the moment. And vulnerable meant easier to take out._

_**xxxxx**_

"_We have made the decision to leave Bristow alone."_

"_What?" Lauren spat, as she fought the urge to throw her mobile across the room._

"_She is no longer a threat. She was just an experiment, to see how powerful the procedures were. Obviously, they need tweaking."_

"_And so she goes free?" Lauren asked incredulously._

"_She has no purpose for us anymore."_

"_And what about my purpose?" Lauren demanded. "What am I supposed to do now that my assignment has been hijacked by Princess Back From the Dead?"_

"_Just wait. We'll contact you when something comes up. But for now, all we need you to do is continue your work within the NSC."_

_Furiously Lauren snapped her phone shut. Wait until something came up? Stay in her boring position at the NSC? Like hell she would. There was only one job that she would be doing and there was only one person who she knew would be willing to help._

* * *

Sydney was back reading the CIA's files on the Covenant when she saw Vaughn return to the JTF. After hesitating for a few seconds, she stood and made to move towards him. 

However, she had barely taken a step when another figure appeared in front of her.

"Hi, uh…Sydney?" Marshall gave a small wave. "I'm Marshall Flinkman. I work here. Tech design and, uh, operations here."

Sydney had to smile. "Marshall," she said, warmly, wrapping him in a hug. "Of course I know who you are."

"Oh wow, oh wow," Marshall almost stammered as they separated. "I can't believe…I wish that I could have been here but Carrie called me, she was sick and needed me—"

"Carrie?" Sydney asked and then realization suddenly dawned. "Ohh…Carrie?"

Marshall nodded fervently as a slight blush spread on his cheeks. "Oh my god…Sydney it is so amazing to have you back. I can't even really relate. We all missed you so much. Actually, " he paused, reaching into his jacket. "I, uh, wrote a poem. Do you want to hear it?"

Over Marshall's shoulder, Sydney spotted Vaughn heading in their direction. "Uh, maybe ano—"

"I've lost my keys. Where are they?" Marshall started. "That's a metaphor."

"Hey," Vaughn came up beside them and stopped. Sydney felt a surge of empathy for him. She had certainly seen him look better.

"How did it go?" Sydney asked gently.

Marshall, who had been about to launch into the next stanza of his poem, stopped, shoving the paper back into his pocket. "Uh, I think…I'm just gonna go," he said as he backed away.

Vaughn shrugged. "I spoke to her and told her the story."

Sydney looked at him for a few seconds. She knew that he was just as uncomfortable as her about the fact they were discussing his ex-fiancé.

"Um, well," she tucked a stand of hair behind her ear. "I've got a lot of reading to do. I should get back to it."

A ghost of a smile crossed Vaughn's face. "I never thought I would see the day when you'd be eager to settle down behind a desk and computer."

"Things change," Sydney quipped. "And besides, as soon as I am allowed to set foot out of this place, I will be demanding that my field rating be reinstated so loudly that those in higher places will be glad to send me away on ops."

"Now that," Vaughn said, "I can see."

* * *

When Lauren saw the figure standing on the bridge she felt a rush of relief. There had been a part of her terrified that they would not turn up. 

As she approached, they turned around. "So you finally decide to show up. I thought that you would be a no-show."

"As I did you," Lauren replied.

Allison's face curved into a malevolent smile. "I considered it. After all, your position within the organization does not wield all that much calling power. But," she paused, "I figured that if you would go to such lengths to contacting me, then you must have something interesting planned."

Lauren nodded. "I thought that you would be willing to help, given with what I want done."

"And just what might that be?"

"I want Sydney Bristow dead."

Allison's brow furrowed slightly. "Surely, you mean Julia Thorne?"

Lauren shook her head. "There's been a recent development. There was a fault in the procedure and she had regressed, back to Bristow."

"How do you know about this?" Allison demanded, meaning how did Lauren find out before her, a much higher-ranking Covenant operative.

"Michael Vaughn," Lauren spat out. "It's the reason he recently broke off our engagement."

"Yes, I heard about that," Allison smirked. "Pity. You really had a chance to make it there."

Lauren ignored the not so subtle dig and continued. "The Covenant has decided that she is no longer of any use. They've called off the manhunt. However, I am not about to sit back and let the woman who ruined my life go free. And," she looked Allison directly in the eye. "Given that it was Bristow who gave you those scars I know that you have, I thought that you would share a similar desire."

A glimmer of anticipation flashed in Allison's eyes and Lauren knew instantaneously that she would be a willing participant in the (real) death of Sydney Bristow.

* * *

A light tapping on her closed door caused Sydney to look up from her book. "Come in." 

The door opened and a somewhat hesitant Vaughn poked his head in. "Hey," he started. "I was just about to head home and I thought I'd check in before I left. See how you were."

"Same as before," Sydney replied.

He nodded shortly, as if he had no other reply. "What are you reading?"

She held up the copy of _Alice in Wonderland_. "Weiss," she explained.

"Right."

"He's actually going to be back here soon. He and Marshall ducked out to grab a pizza and a deck of cards. If you're up for some Texas Hold 'Em, you're more than welcome to stay."

"Uh," Vaughn cleared his throat. "Maybe it would be best if I didn't."

"Please. The both of us could do with a night of light entertainment."

"Are you sure that it won't…"

Sydney sighed. "Look, before I…well, before everything the one thing that I was able to rely on during hard times was your friendship. Whatever the situation may be now, I'm still going to need that friendship. And I think that you could do with some of mine."

Vaughn cleared his throat. "Ok then. I'll—"

"Hey," Weiss and Marshall suddenly came bounding in. "You joining us, Vaughn?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I will be."

* * *

"So what glorious news do you think awaits us today?" Weiss asked Sydney as the two of them headed to Dixon's office the following morning. 

"Maybe we're about to get a slap on the wrist for gambling on government property," she suggested with a small smile.

Weiss groaned. "Don't remind me. Even after having your brain addled for fifteen months you still manage to clean us all out."

Sydney let out a soft laugh. "It was a good night, wasn't it?"

"Speaking of which, I was sensing some vibes. What's going on between you and Vaughn?"

She suddenly sobered. "What do you mean?"

"I thought I was pretty clear."

"Well…nothing is going on."

Weiss bit back on any smart comment. He knew more than well that there could never be 'nothing' going on between Sydney Bristow and Michael Vaughn.

"Do you think that there could be something between you again?" he asked instead.

Sydney shrugged. "I have no idea. I would be lying if I said that I didn't care, but…well…"

"Syd, it's ok," Weiss slung an arm around her shoulders. "You don't have to say it. I get it."

* * *

"I've got good news," Dixon announced. "We intercepted some transmissions over Echelon last night. It would appear that the Covenant are no longer concerned with Julia Thorne." 

Sydney sat up straight. "So I can leave. I can get back out into the field?"

Dixon nodded. "It s safe to do so. We'll have you field rating reinstated as soon as possible."

"Finally," Sydney sighed, sinking back into the couch. "A touch of normalcy."

"Normalcy?" Weiss piped up. "You Syd? I don't think so."

She smiled, looking back at Dixon. "Was that all?"

"Just one more thing," he started, looking between the two of them. "What was this I heard about a game of poker here last night? And more importantly," he grinned, "Why was I not asked to join?"

* * *

"Hey," Vaughn came up yo Sydney about half an hour later. "I just heard." 

Sydney nodded. "And I owe it all to you. So again, thank you."

"Glad I could help," he replied. "And on that note, what are you planning to do about a place to stay? Because if you want, there's the spare room at my—"

"Thanks," Sydney cut him off. "But I'm ok. I'm ok. I'm going to stay with Weiss until I can organise something else."

"Oh ok." Vaughn was unable to keep the slight disappointment out of his voice.

"Vaughn," Sydney went to put a hand on his, but stopped. "Look, I meant what I said about your friendship, but the truth is, things a different. I 'died' and you moved on. Now, I am in no way angry at you for that, but no matter what may happen between us, we cannot just jump straight back to the way we were. And, if I were to stay at your place, I think that we both know more than well what will happen."

A shadow of a smile crossed Vaughn's face. "Ok then." He gestured over his shoulder. "I should go. Stuff to do."

Sydney gave a short nod. "I'll see you around."


	17. Do You Remember?

Thank you all so much for your feedback.**

* * *

**

**Chapter Seventeen:  
Do You Remember**

"_Thanks," Sydney cut him off. "But I'm ok. I'm ok. I'm going to stay with Weiss until I can organise something else."_

"_Oh ok." Vaughn was unable to keep the slight disappointment out of his voice._

"_Vaughn," Sydney went to put an hand in his, but stopped. "Look, I meant what I said about your friendship, but the truth is, things a different. I 'died' and you moved on. Now, I am in no way angry at you for that, but no matter what may happen between us, we cannot just jump straight back to the way we were. And, if I were to stay at your place, I think that we both know more than well what will happen."_

_A shadow of a smile crossed Vaughn's face. "Ok then." He gestured over his shoulder. "I should go. Stuff to do."_

_Sydney gave a short nod. "I'll see you around."_

* * *

"Morning," Sydney said as Weiss stumbled into his kitchen a few days later looking less than awake. With a discerning smile she offered him a steaming mug. "I made coffee." 

"Thank you," Weiss said gratefully as he sunk into a stool at the bench. "By the way I have decided that you are never leaving here. I like this whole you getting up before me and providing me with my daily fuel."

"Just call it my rent," Sydney replied. "Since you won't actually accept the _real_ stuff."

"Don't start on that again. You are my friend and I am helping you out. That is what I do. Lend a helping hand whenever a pal needs one in any way I can."

"Any way?" Sydney asked, trying to nonchalant.

Weiss paused, his mug stopping just before his lips. "Why do I not like the sound of that?" he asked. "What are you going to get me to do now?"

"Nothing major…I think."

"You think?" Weiss placed his mug down on the bench. "Out with it."

"Those few days that the CIA was holding me- as Julia. When Vaughn and dad were trying to…those meetings were filmed right?"

Weiss nodded. "Not just the meetings. Your cell was monitored 24/7 in case of any change."

"I want to see them," Sydney said.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Weiss asked, thinking about what Julia had done to Will. He could not imagine that would be enjoyable for Sydney to witness.

"Weiss, I have no idea of what happened to me these past months. There is nothing- just a complete blank. Maybe is I got to know Julia a little better, then perhaps I may get a little clarity."

"Well, I suppose they could help. However, I should warn you…"

"Warn me?"

"Yeah. This was the same thing said to all of us. The woman who was held in that cell, she's not you, Syd," he said. "She was Julia."

Sydney frowned slightly. "I kinda already knew that, Weiss, but thanks."

"Hang on. We all knew it to, but facing you was a whole other story. And I just thought that you should hear that before watching any footage."

* * *

"What is new in regards to the Covenant?" Dixon put forth to Jack. 

Jack glanced at the sheet of paper before him. "Echelon picked up a meet in a few days time. By sounds of it, the parties involved are significantly ranked within the organization."

"Why are the meeting?"

"They're from two separate cells. Obviously just checking in."

"Well, whatever the reason, it's an opportunity for us to identify some more players," Dixon mused aloud. "What about on the Julia Thorne front? Have we heard anything new?"

"No," Jack replied. "It would seem that Vaughn talking to Lauren has paid off. And speaking of which, what is her status at the NSC? I assume that they are monitoring her in order to use this situation to our advantage."

"NSC have not been all that forthright for the past few days, but a few info leaks that I have been privy to indicate that she has been MIA."

"What?" Jack's tone sounded slightly alarmed. "Why would she forgo her position there? She has no idea that we are aware of where her loyalties lie."

"Which is why this is a concern of ours. However," Dixon paused. "I suggest that we keep it quiet for now. I do not want to cause any unnecessary discomfort around this place. Until we find out what Lauren Reed might be up to, I do not want this to become public knowledge."

* * *

"Sydney." 

She stopped her steps and looked behind her. "Hey dad," she smiled. "What's going on?"

"I just had a meeting with Dixon."

"Oh. What's in the works?"

"Nothing huge. We'll be observing a Covenant meeting in a couple of days. You never know, it could lead to some answers for you."

Sydney's expression turned wry. "Right. Answers? I'm not going to hold my breath."

The two of them fell into step beside one another. "You'll get them, Sydney. We'll make sure of it."

"I know but it is just so infuriating to have this giant gap in my memory. I have not even the slightest trigger, which could give me a clue. And even though I'm hoping that the video will help, I know—"

"What?" Jack cut in. "What video?"

"The ones from Julia's cell," Sydney explained. "That is where I am going now. To go through them."

"Are you sure that you want to do that?"

"Dad, I have already been through this with Weiss. I know that they may be hard to watch, but I have to do it. I need to get to know the woman that I was for fifteen months."

Jack sighed. "Just remember one thing."

"Remember that she is not me?" Sydney said with a small smile. "Dad, I told you- I've already been through this with Weiss."

"Well then, do you want any company?"

Sydney shook her head. "No, I should be…" she trailed off, her steps stopping abruptly and her eyes focused on the wall that was before them. Jack followed her gaze to the Agents Killed In Action plaque, one of the names jumping out, appearing more prominent than the others.

_Bristow, Sydney A_

"I'll have that adjusted," Jack said quietly, ashamed that such a task had not occurred to anyone since Sydney's return.

She turned to look at him. "Where was I buried?"

"You were…cremated. Vaughn spread your ashes at sea."

"I…" she cleared her throat, running a hand through her hair. "I guess that's a question that very rarely gets asked," she said in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere. It worked, but only slightly, as Jack's expression still registered shadows of what he had experienced the day he laid his only daughter to rest.

"Yes," he said shortly. "Well, I should probably let you go. There's plenty of footage for you to get through."

"Ok," Sydney went to move off, but in a split second decision, turned and wrapped Jack into a hug.

* * *

"_I saw you. At the pier and at the beach. You recognized me. How come?"  
_"_Because you looked like somebody I used to know."  
_"_What happened to her?"  
_"_She died."  
__"Along with a part of you?"_

Sydney swallowed hard as she watched the screen before her. She had started off fine. Sure, it had been completely disorientating to watch herself as a different person, but it hadn't been too bad.

But watching Julia speak to Vaughn. To see no recognition in her eyes and total anguish in his was not something that she had been prepared for. From what she could gauge Julia was a tough act to crack. Yes, there were times when her stance faltered, but for the most part she was icy cold and Sydney could not help but feel disheartened by that. Had she really spent the past months living as this woman? Going through each day, void of emotion and warmth?

Though the hardest thing for Sydney to watch was the traits of her own that she could see in Julia. Determination, strength, never giving too much away when questioned. Sure, they were distorted, maybe even exaggerated, but they were still there.

"_Why do you even care? I see it on your eyes. Why are you taking this so personally?"  
_"_Here. That is why I care so much."  
_"_This is the woman you told me about. The one who died."  
_"_Yes." _

Sydney paused the video at that point, taking in the expression on Vaughn's face as he handed the photograph over to Julia. Weiss and her father had been warning her about the wrong thing. She could handle watching herself as Julia. What she could not stand was seeing the effect that Julia had on those she cared about.

"Do you remember when that photo was taken?"

Sydney turned, startled, to see Vaughn standing in the doorway. "How long have you been there?"

"About a minute," he replied. "Do you remember?"

Sydney gave a short nod. "Yes. Yes, I do."

"A lifetime ago," he murmured. "We were so happy and then it just got ripped from under our feet."

Sydney could hardly dare to breathe, let alone speak. The room around them began to feel as if the walls were closing in.

"After you died," Vaughn started, his voice low, "I used to speak to you…like you were still around. Literally, out loud, whole conversations about…nothing: the weather…should I get a new car? Should I have another drink?"

Sydney closed her eyes briefly. Weiss had told her, of course, what the after effects of her death had done to Vaughn, but to hear it coming from his mouth, in his own words, was an entirely different thing.

"And although, rationally, I knew I was a guy who…stayed up nights drinking…talking to his dead girlfriend…Still, I couldn't stop."

"Vaughn—"

"I know that you are hurt over Lauren, but what you also need to know is that I loved you so much that it nearly killed me. I moved on, not because I wanted to, but because I had to."

Sydney was blinking furiously, trying to stop the tears that were prickling the back of her eyes.

"Well," Vaughn tucked his hands into his pockets. "I just wanted to let you know, in case you were doubting—"

"I'm not," Sydney said, shaking her head. "Anymore."

"Ok then," Vaughn said, running a hand through his hair. "I should probably leave you be." And with that he turned and walked away, leaving Sydney to digest the enormity of the words he had just spoken.


	18. Familiar

Thank you all so much for your feedback.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Eighteen:  
Familiar**

"_I know that you are hurt over Lauren, but what you also need to know is that I loved you so much that it nearly killed me. I moved on, not because I wanted to, but because I had to."_

_Sydney was blinking furiously, trying to stop the tears that were prickling the back of her eyes._

"_Well," Vaughn tucked his hands into his pockets. "I just wanted to let you know, in case you were doubting—"_

"_I'm not," Sydney said, shaking her head. "Anymore."_

"_Ok then," Vaughn said, running a hand through his hair. "I should probably leave you be." And with that he turned and walked away, leaving Sydney to digest the enormity of the words he had just spoken._

* * *

"No," Lauren snapped. "We are not going about it that way." 

Allison's eyes narrowed. "And why should you make that decision? You have never even had experience out on the field."

"I get to make this decision because I came to you. Because I want to do it my way."

"Your way?" Allison scoffed. "You don't have a way. Tell me, Lauren, have you ever killed a person before?"

Lauren faltered for a second. "No, but—"

"Then you will listen to me. We go about this quietly. Follow her on an op or something and then put a few bullets in her brain from a distance. Then I can go back to my work and you can go about wheedling yourself back into the life of Michael Vaughn."

"No. None of from a distance business."

Allison stood up abruptly. "Fine. If you are not going to listen to me then I am gone. I am not—"

"I want her to have to look at me. And you," Lauren cut in, her voce low but hard edged, "I want Sydney Bristow to have look us in the eyes before she dies."

Allison paused, interest flickering within her eyes. "What?"

"You heard me," Lauren replied. "And I know that you would love nothing more than to face the woman who tried to kill you. To be able to look her in the face and pump her full of bullets just like she did to you."

"If we were to apprehend Bristow, the risks for us would be greatly increased," Allison pointed out. "I need to know that you are up for this. That you will be willing to put everything into this."

"Of course I am," Lauren said, unable to keep the withering expression off her face. "There is not a chance that I am going to screw this up."

* * *

"Here you go," Dixon handed both Sydney and Weiss a folder. "Full mission outlines. There is not a whole lot to it. This op is strictly surveillance, got it? Get in, get some photographs and get out." 

Weiss nodded. "Sounds simple enough." He turned to Sydney, giving her a pat on the back. "Something nice and straightforward to ease our very own super spy back into the mix."

"Wheels up in one hour," Dixon continued.

"Is that all?" Weiss asked.

"Yes, except Sydney." Dixon replied. "Could I have a quick word?"

"Uh," Weiss said, backing towards the door. "I'll just check in with Op-Tech."

When he was gone, Sydney turned to Dixon. "What is it?"

"I just wanted to make sure that you were ready to be sent out into the field. The last thing I want to do is pressure you into returning prematurely."

Sydney smiled. "Dixon, there is not way that you could pressure me into this. I need to get out there. I need to _do_ something."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. If you hadn't assigned me to this op, I would have sent myself anyway," Sydney replied. "I just want to get back to work."

Dixon nodded. "Ok then. I'll see you when you get back."

* * *

"Do you see them?" Weiss asked, his voice coming through the comms in Sydney's ear. "The identifier is a green pen. It should be sitting on the table." 

Sydney scanned the large out door eating area, positioned in the centre of the bustling marketplace. Her eyes were covered with dark sunglasses, in which Marshall had built in a camera.

"Got them," she murmured, as she moved subtly towards the table. "One has just arrived."

Placing her hand in her pocket, she pressed the small device within, activating the camera. In quick succession she had taken five of so pictures.

"Coming through now…" Weiss said. "Nice job, Syd. Do they look at all familiar to you?"

"No…I'm just going to try and move in closer."

"Be careful," Weiss warned. "We don't want any excitement today. Next op, I promise. I'll speak to Dixon. Make sure that we get car chases and explosions galore."

Sydney fought back a smile. "Thanks Weiss. I owe you one."

"Juts make me an extra strong pot of coffee tomorrow and we'll call it even."

* * *

Sydney's feet pounded the ground as she ran through the bright and leafy park. She and Weiss had returned from the op about an hour ago, and for some reason she felt completely wired, and the only way to fix that was a nice long run. 

When her muscles started to protest, Sydney slowed and came to a stop by a bench in order to stretch. As she did so, she found herself admiring her surroundings, a slow distressed feeling creeping slowly into her stomach. She loved this city so much and it was so hard to fathom that she had been gone for so long. Gone, with no memory at all of where she had been.

"Hey." A familiar voice called out.

Sydney straightened up as Vaughn jogged to a stop before her. "Hi."

"You're back?"

"Yeah."

"How did it go?"

"Pretty non-eventful," Sydney replied. "The most excitement we got was probably when Weiss decided to play around with camera glasses when we got back to LA. I don't know what analysis will do when they get to his 'artistic' shots."

Vaughn chuckled. "Only Weiss, hey?" he said, and Sydney nodded. "So, does it feel good to be getting back into it all?"

Sydney smiled as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Just a bit. Gives me the illusion that I'm getting my old life back again." silence descended upon them for a few seconds, the atmospheres turning almost awkward. "Well," Sydney cleared her throat. "I'm done here, so I should probably let you get back to your run."

"No, wait." Vaughn stopped her. "I'm…I was just about to go grab a coffee. Do you want to join me?"

After a few seconds hesitation, Sydney gave a short nod. "Ok."

* * *

"So," Vaughn said. "How is it living with Weiss?" 

Sydney grinned as she idly stirred her coffee. "It's great. Though I am starting to feel like a bit of a burden. I think that it's time that I start to look for somewhere else to live."

"Do you think that you'll go out on your own?"

Sydney nodded. "Yeah…though it'll be weird. I've never actually lived by myself."

"It has its advantages," Vaughn said with a wry smile. "But of course, there are also the disadvantages."

"So I figured," Sydney said, rasing her mug to her lips, feeling a somewhat relief wash over her. She had not felt this relaxed and comfortable around Vaughn since her return, and given his expression she guessed that he felt the same. Like going out on the op, it gave her a sense of familiarity and…well, hope. A taste of what things could have felt like had she never disappeared.

Vaughn went to speak, but then paused, as if considering what to say. "How…" he brought a hand up, rubbing the back of his neck. "How are you doing?"

Sydney blinked. "How am I doing?" she asked, slightly perturbed.

"Yeah. I kinda feel like that we've been pushing aside the fact that you spent the past fifteen months living a different life. We've never really spoken about it. And I don't know if we should…I mean, do you want it to talk about it, or…"

"I would love to be able to speak about it," Sydney replied quietly. "But I have nothing to talk about. Just a blank. And hearing about everything that went on while I was gone makes it all the more frustrating…"

Vaughn was looking at her intently. "I can't even begin to imagine."

"Vaughn," Sydney started, her brwo furrowed deeply, as if she were troubled with what she was about to say.

"Yeah?"

"I want to…I know that you would not want…at least I think…oh, maybe I just shouldn't—"

"Sydney." Vaughn looked at her. "Just say it."

"I need to ask you a favour," Sydney said, drawing in a deep breath. "A huge one."

* * *

Sydney looked out to where the water crashed, almost violently, into the white sand. It was beautiful and she couldn't help but think that it was perfect. 

The kind of place that she would have chosen.

"So, this is it?" she asked, her voice quiet.

"Yes," Vaughn's voice was strangely tight. "This is it."

"Why here?"

Vaughn shrugged. "It seemed just right." He closed his eyes briefly, the memory of him scattering Sydney's ashes into the ocean washing over him, like one of the crashing waves before them.

Sydney glanced over at him and knew what he was thinking. It was hard for her to picture him, standing at the water's edge with an urn. It was image that one should never have to picture.

"Who was here?"

"Your father and myself. Weiss, Dixon, Marshall," Vaughn replied. "Will wanted to, but he couldn't…"

Sydney nodded and as she did, felt a shiver climb up her spine. It was strange sensation that she could not ignore, that she could not push aside.

"I feel like I've been her before," she murmured.

"You have," Vaughn replied and Sydney looked at him, surprised. "As Julia. I saw you."

Sydney shook her head slightly. "No. This has nothing to do with Julia."

"How do you mean?"

"I just feel like this is all coming from me. It sounds strange, but since I have been back, nothing has given me the slightest hint of Julia. Even when I was watching that footage of the cell, I felt nothing that could have indicated that I actually experienced what I was viewing. It was just like watching some strange movie." Sydney paused, taking in a deep breath. "This place, I feel like _I've_ been here…do you understand what I'm getting at?"

"I think so…" Vaughn replied quietly. "The only question is, when would you have come here?"

"I've got no idea," Sydney replied. "Which I one feeling that I am getting all too familiar with."

Almost hesitantly, Vaughn places a hand on her shoulder. "You will get your answers, Syd."

Sydney looked up at him, as he unknowingly echoed Jack's words, and all she could do was attempt a small smile. She wasn't going to hold her breath, that was for sure.


	19. Hate

Thank you all so much for your feedback.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Nineteen:  
Hate**

"_I just feel like this is all coming from me. It sounds strange, but since I have been back, nothing has given me the slightest hint of Julia. Even when I was watching that footage of the cell, I felt nothing that could have indicated that I actually experienced what I was viewing. It was just like watching some strange movie." Sydney paused, taking in a deep breath. "This place, I feel like I've been here…do you understand what I'm getting at?"_

"_I think so…" Vaughn replied quietly. "The only question is, when would you have come here?"_

"_I've got no idea," Sydney replied. "Which I one feeling that I am getting all too familiar with."_

_Almost hesitantly, Vaughn places a hand on her shoulder. "You will get your answers, Syd."_

_Sydney looked up at him, as he unknowingly echoed Jack's words, and all she could do was attempt a small smile. She wasn't going to hold her breath that was for sure._

* * *

The following day Sydney tapped lightly on the door to Marshall's office before poking her head in. "You wanted to see me?" 

Dixon looked up and waved her in. "We've been looking closely at the photos you took on the op. Marshall picked up on something."

Sydney stepped in and peered at the computer screen. The images were not those that she had taken in the marketplace. They were the ones that Weiss had snapped jokingly when they returned to LA.

"Uh," Sydney cleared her throat. "About those…"

"Yes. I was about to have a word with you and Agent Weiss," Dixon said as a soft cough was heard. Sydney looked at Marshall and could have sworn that he was disguising a laugh. "But that was before we saw this."

"Saw what?" Sydney inquired.

"This," Dixon replied. "Marshall."

Marshall hit a key, enlarging the images on the screen. Sydney looked closely. "What…" she trailed off, her trained eyes picking up on something odd. Weiss had taken the photos at several different locations on their way back to the JTF, and what caught her eyes was that in most of them a black car, with heavily tinted windows could be seen somewhere in the background.

She looked at Dixon. "You don't think…"

"We can only assume that it was following either you or Weiss," Dixon said. "Now, there is no obvious reason for Weiss to be tracked. But you…"

"Not the Covenant, surely," Sydney said. "They called off the hunt for Julia."

"True," Dixon nodded. "But that is not to say that they are no longer interested in _you_. And there is the possibility that it may be someone completely disassociated with them. Julia Thorne did leave a lot of destruction in her wake."

"Is there anyway to find out who owns the car?" Sydney asked.

"Working on that now," Marshall replied. "But the chances are…slim."

"So, until we discover anything," Dixon spoke up. "You are to be extra vigilant, Sydney."

Sydney nodded sombrely. Dixon would not have to remind her twice.

* * *

"You were being followed?" Vaughn asked, sitting himself down in the edge of Sydney's desk a few hours later. 

She nodded. "We've got them on film from the airport to the JTF. Who knows how long they continued afterwards."

"Do you think it was the Covenant?"

"No idea," Sydney shrugged and then sighed. "So much for trying to go about things as normally as possible. How is that supposed to happen when I am looking over my shoulder 24/7?"

Vaughn gave her a wry smile. "Things are never easy, are they?"

"Not quite," Sydney leaned back in her seat. "So does that make me crazy for hoping that they would be?"

* * *

Everything changed towards the end of the day, as Sydney started gathering her things, ready to leave for the day. Picking up her bag, she was about to walk away when the phone on her desk started to ring. After a second on considering not answering, Sydney grabbed it. 

"Hello."

"Sydney, its Dixon I need you in my office now."

"Ok, I'll—" She cut off as Dixon abruptly hung up. With a slight frown she placed the phone back in the receiver and after dumping her bag, headed towards his office.

To her surprise she reached Dixon's door at the same time as Vaughn. "He wants to see you as well?"

Vaughn nodded. "Did he give you any clue?"

Sydney shook her head. "But I'm guessing that we are about to find out," she said, pushing the door open.

"Sydney, Vaughn," Dixon said when they entered. "Please sit."

"Dixon, what is going on?" Sydney asked, placing herself down on the couch, with Vaughn following suit beside her.

"One of our satellite's picked up on something interesting the other day," Dixon said. "It was complete coincidental luck that somebody actually saw this image."

"What image?" Vaughn inquired.

Dixon picked an enlarged photo off his desk. For a few seconds he just stared at it, his eyes hard. Then, exhaling deeply, he looked up at Sydney and Vaughn. "Here," she offered it over, and with a quick glance at Vaughn, Sydney accepted it.

Looking down at the photo, Sydney felt a jolt, and she assumed it would have been along the lines of what the people she cared about felt when they discovered that she was in fact alive.

The only difference, she guessed, was that they would have experienced relief. What she felt was utter loathing.

Sydney looked up at Dixon, her stomach churning. "Is it…"

He nodded. "It's Allison."

"But…I shot her…" Sydney's eyes fell back on the photograph. "How…"

"I don't know," Dixon replied.

"What…" Vaughn cleared his throat. "What the hell is Allison Doren doing with Lauren?"

Sydney was startled. She had been so absorbed with the image of Allison, alive and well, before her that she had failed to notice the company that she was in. Silently she took in the appearance of the blonde woman. So that was what she looked like.

"The answer to your question, Vaughn, is Sydney," Dixon said.

"What?" Vaughn asked incredulously. Sydney was too focused on the photo to speak. To consumed with anger over the fact that the Allison was still breathing.

"It's the only common ground that they share," Dixon explained. "Sydney, you are aware that you are being followed. At this point, all logic points in your direction."

"Hang on, hang on," Vaughn said. "What about the Covenant? They abducted Sydney. Who's to say that they didn't take Allison at the same time?"

"We assume that the Covenant rehabilitated Allison. But the chances of these two working together within the organization are slim. Lauren was never out in the field we know that. The work she was completing did not require tactical training. Allison, on the other hand, well, let's just say that can't see the Covenant wasting her…" Dixon swallowed hard. "Her talents."

Vaughn glanced at Sydney, who was still staring at the photo, and unreadable expression on her face. "So you think that they've gone rogue for some reason? Most likely to do with Sydney?"

"It's all theories at the moment," Dixon replied. "But apart from the Covenant, Sydney is the only link between the two. Think about it, Vaughn. You left Lauren when she returned, consequently ruining whatever plans she may have had. And Sydney shot Allison, leaving her to die."

"This is insane," Vaughn said, running a hand through his hair.

Dixon looked over at Sydney, his own hatred of Allison being ebbed by his concern for Sydney. She had fallen to quiet. "Sydney," he prompted, trying to illicit a response.

"Excuse me," she said hoarsely as she stood up abruptly. Without another word, she turned and hurried out of the office.

In an instant Vaughn was also on his feet, shooting Dixon a questioning look.

He nodded. "Go. We can discuss our next moves tomorrow."

* * *

Vaughn found Sydney leaning against a wall in the flirting corner, fighting back tears and looking as if she were on the verge of breaking down. 

"Syd," he said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Talk to me. Please."

Breathing erratically, Sydney rakes her hands through her hair and shook her head. She couldn't bring herself to speak.

Silently, Vaughn pulled her tightly into his arms, gently stroking her hair. This alone worked more than any soothing words could, and after a few minutes Sydney could feel the hysteria that had been building up, start to fade. Her breaths steadied, and the nauseating rolls of her stomach slowed.

"She's alive," she managed to say. "She's alive and…" she stopped, as her throat started to constrict once more.

"Come on," Vaughn said, pulling back slightly. "Let's get you out of here."

* * *

"I don't know what sickens me more," Sydney said. "The fact that Allison is still alive or that she still looks like Francie." With disgust etched all over her face, she raised her beer to her mouth and took a long drink. 

Vaughn played with the label on his own bottle, which had started to peel off. He hadn't really thought when he brought Sydney back to his place; he had only been concerned with getting her away from everything at the Operations centre. But now that they were here, he knew that he had made the right decision. Sydney starting to really let it out, and he had an inkling hat it was just what she needed.

"When I think of what she did…I feel like I have this huge molten ball of hate and anger just ripping straight through me…"

"That's understandable," Vaughn said. "Nobody is going to hold it against you for feeling that way."

"But I hate feeling this way!" Sydney suddenly exploded. "Before, there was my hatred of Sloane eating away at me- and it's still doing it today! And now this? I don't want to have to continue life filled with all this ill feeling. What is that going to do to me in 10 or 20 years time?" Leaning back into the couch, Sydney looked over at Vaughn, chewing her bottom lip. "Have you ever experienced that I'm feeling?"

For a second, Vaughn assumed that she was asking about her mother, how he felt towards her. But in the next moment, he realized that it wasn't. Sydney knew what he thought about Irina. No, this was an entirely different subject.

"How do you mean?"

Sydney dipped her head slightly. "When you found out…about Lauren," she replied, quietly.

Vaughn blinked, taken aback. "Lauren?"

Sydney nodded. "When you found out the truth, what did that do to you?"

He exhaled loudly. "I felt like a fool…and I felt so angry that I could be used like that. But mostly, all I felt was this huge sense of relief."

Sydney looked up, surprised. "Relief?"

"Yes," Vaughn replied. "Because the situation could have been a whole lot worse. Things would have been entirely different had I discovered the truth ten years later down the track. We both know how much damage something like that can do."

Sydney just raised her eyebrows as she raised her drink to her lips.

"But I had already ended it. I had realized that the relationship was not right for me. Hell, if she didn't have her hidden agenda, I would have never been in a relationship in the first place." He paused, taking a drink. "I managed to get out before she caused any real harm."

Sydney was looking at him intently. "Do you hate her?"

Vaughn thought for a few seconds. "I hate what she did. But her? I think that I just pity her."

Sydney's expression crumpled slightly. "I wish…I wish that I could feel that way, but I can't."

"Hey," Vaughn started gently. "What Allison did to you, Will and Francie is a hell of a lot worse than what Lauren could have done to me. As I said before, it is totally understandable that you feel that way."

Sydney sighed. "You know, the chances are that we are going to come face to face sometime in the future. And if she is Covenant, I know that I should keep her alive, to maybe help me find out more about Julia. But I also know that if I ever look her in the eyes again, all I'll want to do is kill her…like she did to Fr…like she…" With that, she burst into loud, racking sobs and within a second, she was wrapped in Vaughn's warm embrace.

* * *

Sometime later, after Sydney's tears had died down, she shifted in her seat, looking up at Vaughn. "Sorry," she mumbled. 

Vaughn just gave her a small smile. "Something tells me you could do with another drink."

Sydney let out a soft laugh. "Yeah, thanks."

Vaughn stood and headed to the kitchen. He was only gone a minute, but by the time he returned, he found Sydney, dead to the world on the couch.

For a few moments he gazed at her form, grateful that she finally looked peaceful, after what she had been through that evening. Silently he went and grabbed a spare blanket, covering Sydney with it. And then, fighting the urge to press his lips into her forehead, he headed towards his own room.


	20. A Place of Her Own

Thank you all so much for your feedback

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Twenty:  
A Place of Her Own**

_Sometime later, after Sydney's tears had died down, she shifted in her seat, looking up at Vaughn. "Sorry," she mumbled._

_Vaughn just gave her a small smile. "Something tells me you could do with another drink."_

_Sydney let out a soft laugh. "Yeah, thanks."_

_Vaughn stood and headed to the kitchen. He was only gone a minute, but by the time he returned, he found Sydney, dead to the world on the couch._

_For a few moments he gazed at her form, grateful that she finally looked peaceful, after what she had been through that evening. Silently he went and grabbed a spare blanket, covering Sydney with it. And then, fighting the urge to press his lips into her forehead, he headed towards his own room._

* * *

When Sydney opened her eyes the following morning she couldn't place where she was. For a second that icy cold feeling of unknowing washed over her and could not help but think, '_Oh no, not again_.' 

But then a mug of coffee came into view, along with an extremely familiar voice saying, "Good morning."

Sitting up, Sydney gratefully took the coffee from Vaughn. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." He sat down on the armchair opposite her. "Sleep well?"

Sydney shrugged. She didn't really feel like delving into the dreams that had been dogging her sleep ever since she returned. "Ok." She brought the mug to her lips and glanced around the room. In doing so, she caught sight of the clock on the wall. "Oh!" She jumped up from the couch. "It's late. I should be at Ops by now."

"Don't worry," Vaughn said. "I called Dixon. He knows that you are going to be late."

It was then that Sydney realised that, in their haste to get away from the Operations centre the night before, her car had been left behind. She was going to need a lift from Vaughn to get to work. She looked at him, and knew that he was thinking the same thing as her.

"Come on," he nodded towards the door. "I'll take you home so you can get changed."

"Thanks," Sydney said and couldn't help letting out a laugh. "The grape vine will be working overtime as it is, with us showing up together. Could you imagine if I were wearing the same clothes as yesterday?"

Vaughn grinned. "Yeah…though, depending on what time he's starting today, you may still have to contend with Weiss at home."

"Oh god," Sydney groaned as they headed to the front door. "It is so time for me to find a place of my own."

* * *

"This task force has a new priority," Dixon announced to the groups of agents sitting around the conference. He hit a button on the remote he was holding, causing enlarged images of Allison and Lauren to appear on the screen behind him. "As well as continuing our work against the Covenant, I want our focus to be placed upon apprehending Allison Doren and Lauren Reed." 

Sydney's stomach rolled again, unable to look away from Allison's' eyes. It was so surreal. They were identical to Francie's, but at the same time, completely different. So hard and so cold. It sickened her. How had she not picked up on it when Allison was living under her roof?

"It would appear that Reed has left her assignment at the NSC," Dixon continued, "which means that she is no longer useful to us. She is now only a threat, to be viewed as dangerous. Especially given recent intel that she is apparently collaborating with Allison Doren. These two together can only equal bad news. And given Reed's knowledge of the procedures within the NSC and CIA, they have a slight advantage that our other opponents lack. The sooner that we get Doren and Reed in our custody, the better."

There was a tense feel amongst the agents as they started to filter out of the conference room. Sydney hung back, wanting to talk with Dixon. She had been so consumed with herself the previous day; she had failed to see that Dixon was probably just as ripped apart by the news as she.

"Hey," she said, taking a step towards him. "How are you doing?"

Dixon gave her a wry smile. "I was just about to ask you the same question."

"Uh, uh," Sydney shook her head. "You are not wheedling out of am answer, Dixon. Not with me."

He sighed. "I feel ill. I literally feel sick…" he trailed off. "I got home last night and Steven and Robyn were laughing about something. Its times like those that it really hits me that their mother isn't there to see them so happy. And it's all because of _her_. The past months I've been able to deal with that due to the fact that she was dead. When you died, the only sense of relief I got was the thought that you had taken her down with you. That Allison Doren had got what she deserved."

"And now you discover that she is alive," Sydney said quietly.

Dixon nodded. "While Diane misses out on seeing her children grow up, she is out there causing more devastation." Dixon was unable to keep the disgust out of his voice. "Now, how does that make sense?"

Sydney had no reply. There was no need for her to tell Dixon that she agreed with him. He already knew perfectly well that she did.

"There's a good chance that you will come up against her in the field, Sydney. Especially if we are correct in the assumption that she and Lauren are following you," Dixon said. "And so, I want you to be clear on the rules of engagement."

"Yes, I know," Sydney replied dully. "Allison is another link we now have into the Covenant. She is part of a larger agenda, and as such, is not to be killed."

"I want her dead." Dixon said bluntly.

"What!"

"The order from Langley is bring her in…dead or alive. She killed my wife. She killed your best friend…so, I look at this as an opportunity." He paused; his expression hardening with hatred that Sydney did not think him capable of. "I want that bitch dead."

* * *

"I can't believe that you are abandoning me," Weiss grumbled as he stood by the bench in Sydney's new kitchen. 

Sydney grinned. "You're just upset that you won't have a pot of coffee waiting for your every morning."

"No, I'm not," he shot back, a playfully wounded expression on his face. "I'm going to miss other things. Like…the pleasure of your company…and how neat you are…and…I'm going to miss _you_," he finished lamely.

Sydney laughed. "Could you sound any more contrived?"

"Yeah," Vaughn chimed in. "We're disappointed in you, Weiss. You should be able to do better."

"Give me a break. Do you know how dependent I have become on those caffeine hits?"

"And here's me thinking that it was my presence putting him in such a good mood every morning," Sydney joked.

"You shouldn't get too worried, Weiss," Vaughn said. "Syd's only moved a couple of doors down. You could always walk down in the mornings."

"Yeah!" Weiss's expression brightened, as he slung an arm around Sydney's shoulders. "How does that sound to you?"

"Swell," she replied wryly.

Something had finally gone right for Sydney. Just a day after she had learned that Allison was alive, an apartment near Weiss had become available. With her intense desire to start rebuilding her life, Sydney had jumped at the place. Even though she was still a little unsure about living by herself, she knew that this place was perfect. With a little work, it wouldn't be long before she would be able to refer to it as home.

"Great," Weiss clapped his hands together, a cheeky grin on his face. "Now, that the coffee dilemma has been resolved, perhaps we should get back to work."

Sydney glanced at Vaughn, both of them with a box in their arms, and she knew that they were thinking the same thing.

'_We?_'

* * *

"Why does moving heavy objects automatically mean that I need a beer? Chop, chop!" 

Sydney grinned as she handed Weiss a bottle. "Maybe because you are a slave to advertising."

"Well, that makes two of us," Vaughn announced, grabbing his own drink.

With a laugh, Sydney joined the two of them in her living room. They had certainly earned a wind down. It was early evening and the move was completed. Sure, the job had been lessened by the fact that Sydney had few personal belongings, but she was more than grateful for their help.

"Ahh," Weiss leaned back into his seat. "I have to say, I like what you have done with the place. All this new stuff- I would love to be able to do that."

"The advantages of losing all your stuff in a fire," Sydney deadpanned and Weiss nearly choked on the mouthful of beer he'd taken.

"Oh my god. I am…" he trailed off. Sydney, unable to contain her façade any longer had broken into a large grin. "Syd!" Weiss leaned across, giving her a soft shove. "You had me feeling like I was going to have to surgically remove my foot from my mouth!"

"Sorry. I couldn't help it."

"Really nice," he grinned, glancing down at his watch. "Oh, I gotta go."

"Don't go on my account," Sydney said. "I promise- no more torture."

"Oh, but you see, I _have _to go," Weiss stood, an extremely pleased look on his face. "I've got a date."

"What?" Sydney exclaimed. "Why are we only hearing about this now?"

"Because, if I had told you any earlier, I would have had to put up with yours and Vaughn's teasing all day."

"Now, we wouldn't have done that," Vaughn said, pulling a straight face. "Would we, Syd?"

She shook her head. "Of course not."

Weiss let out a loud laugh. "Yeah right," he scoffed. "I'll see myself out. Oh, and Syd?"

"Yeah?"

"I'll be seeing you tomorrow morning for coffee."

"Can't wait," Sydney smiled. When Weiss had gone she turned towards Vaughn. "What about you? Any plans for tonight?"

"Nope," he replied.

"Well, do you want to stay for dinner? It's the least I could do after your help today."

Vaughn smiled. "I would love to."

* * *

"So what was it like? Teaching?" Sydney asked, stretching out her legs. She and Vaughn had spreads out on the living room floor, with Chinese take out and thankfully the conversation had been centred on more lighthearted topics. 

"Different," Vaughn replied. "I enjoyed it but, well, I guess you could say it didn't seem entirely right for me. I never felt comfortable…the way I am when I'm holding a weapon," he finished with a grin.

Sydney laughed. "I know exactly what you mean."

"But what about you? Do you think that you'll ever make it into a classroom?"

Sydney shrugged. "Maybe one day," she said. "Though I can just see myself getting up in front of a class and just crashing and burning."

Vaughn raised his eyebrows. "Somehow, I don't think so. All you would have to do is mention that were a trained CIA agent and you would have no control issues whatsoever."

"Ohh…so that' what you did then?"

"Of course," he replied in a mock serious tone.

"Yeah, I bet you were a real dictator," Sydney joked and then broke off into a loud yawn. "Oh, excuse me."

"On that note, I should head off," Vaughn said, standing up. "I think that we have both earned a good night's sleep."

"Hear, hear," Sydney agreed as she walked with him to the front door. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

Vaughn nodded. "Yeah. Good night."

"Good night."


	21. You're Welcome

Thank you all so much for your feedback

**agent belle & RoutineRiot: **Now, I completely understand your slight frustration about the slow build up of Syd and Vaughn's relationship, but have I ever disappointed you?...I hope not :S...Anyway, patience and I promise that it will happen.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Twenty- One:  
You're Welcome**

Sydney had to laugh the following morning when she heard a loud knocking on her front door.

"Morning Weiss," she said, throwing open the door. "Here you go," she handed him a coffee filled travel mug.

His mouth fell open slightly. "Uh…thanks."

"You're welcome. Now I've got to go or I'll be late. Did you want a lift?"

Weiss nodded. "That would be great."

Grabbing her bag, Sydney stepped outside. "So how was the big date?"

Weiss paused thoughtfully. "I like to think that I'm a pretty non-judgemental guy, Syd. That I am accepting to all people."

Sydney raised her eyebrows. "Ok," she said, wondering just exactly where he was heading with this.

"But when a woman tells me that her favourite movie of all time is _Pretty Woman_, I am sorry, but any thoughts I have for a second date, disappear."

Sydney just stared at him. "You are not serious?"

"Yes."

"Oh, it is such a shame," she said, shaking her head and grinning.

"What? That I can't find someone to give me a little sugar?"

"No, the fact that you and Will never really got to know each other," Sydney replied. "I have the feeling that you would have gotten on like a house on fire."

Weiss blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"Never mind."

"Syd!"

"It's nothing."

This continued as they climbed into Sydney's car and backed out onto the street. so distracted by their conversation, neither of them noticed the black car parked several houses down.

**

* * *

**Allison looked up from the laptop as Lauren walked in. "Where have you been?" 

"Keeping an eye on things."

"Anything out of the ordinary?"

Lauren shook her head. "No," she said, walking around and looking over Allison's shoulder. "What about you? Any information?"

"Not yet."

"Not yet? You've been at it for hours."

Allison looked up, her eyes narrowed. "Forgive me, the codes you procured don't exactly have high level access. I'm working on breaking through the firewalls."

"Don't speak to me as if I am incompetent," Lauren snapped. "Had I stolen any higher access codes, suspicions would have been raised. I wasn't about to risk my position at the NSC."

"Well, since you are no longer at the NSC I really don't give a damn about that. What I care about it hacking in and getting the information we need," Allison shot back. "So, I suggest that you get back into your car and do what you are capable of."

Lauren walked away, seething. '_This will all be worth it_,' she told herself, in an attempt to sate her fury. When she had Sydney Bristow in her clutches, this would all be worth it.

* * *

"Dr Klaus Dierdrich," Dixon said. "From Berlin. Had been working on a way of using a person's genetic code to create a specific cure for serious, infectious diseases." 

"Why is he a concern of ours?" Vaughn asked.

"He was killed a few days ago and his research stolen. The Covenant made an offer over the black market and it was accepted."

"Why would the Covenant want a cure for infectious diseases?" Sydney asked. "Is turning humanitarian the new rage or something?"

"They want the research because if they can reverse Dierdrich's work, they will be able to develop a way to engineer diseases such as Ebola to infect specific people," Dixon replied. "Needless to say, we cannot let them get their hands on this research."

"What's the mission?"

"The exchange is going down at a night club in Berlin. Now, the seller has remained anonymous- until now. "Dixon hit his remote, and an image of a rough shaven man appeared on the screen. "Amos Littleton. Sydney, Vaughn, you are to apprehend him before the meet. He will be staying at the Paradies Hotel, room 247. Vaughn, you will then take his place at the meet. Marshall has created a disc of fake research. That is what you will hand over. Sydney, you will be there as back- up."

"The Covenant doesn't know what Littleton looks like?" Vaughn queried.

"We do not believe so. Our intel came from a secure source," Dixon said, handing over two folders. "There are full details in there. Wheels up in two hours."

* * *

Allison shrugged on her jacket and then grabbed her bag. "I'm going. You know what to do while I'm gone?" 

Lauren nodded. "I'll have Bristow's place sourced and bugged before you even land."

Allison smirked. "Don't get ahead of yourself," she said. "I'll seem you when I get back."

* * *

"_Guten tag_," Vaughn said as he approached the hotel reception. "_Ich habe Reservierung unter Davidson_."

"Ah," the clerk behind the desk said. "_Wie sind Sie heute abend, Herr Davidson?_"

"_Gut, danke_," Vaughn replied.

The clerk smiled as he handed over an electronic key. "_Sie sind in Raum 249. Genießen Sie Ihren Aufenthalt._"

Vaughn nodded. "_Danke_." He turned and walked a few steps to where Sydney was waiting. "Now, why couldn't you have taken care of that?" he asked as they headed towards the elevator. "Your German is stronger than mine."

Sydney grinned. "I just like to see you struggle every now and then."

Inside the elevator, she pulled out a device room her bag. Taking the key from Vaughn, she swiped it through, scrambling its code so that it was now programmed to open any room's door in the hotel.

"Ready?" she asked and Vaughn nodded as the elevator doors opened with a 'ding'.

The hall was deserted and so they hurried their way to room 247. Sydney paused before opening the door, waiting for Vaughn to remove his gun from its holster. Then, swiping the card, she punched the door and they burst into the room, where a terrified Amos Littleton was standing frozen by the bed, his hands raised above his head.

Sydney glanced at Vaughn. The guy was as far from professional as they come, and she knew that she could rely on this part of the Op to be a cinch.

* * *

Nonchalantly, Sydney adjusted her deep auburn wig and leaned against the rail that ran around the second level of the club, watching Vaughn through the smokey haze, as he conversed with two men. As far as Ops go, this one was running smoothly. It had only taken very minimal 'persuasion' to get Littleton to give up all the specific details of the meet. 

And as for Dierdrich's research, it had already been transmitted back to base. Sydney could only imagine the field day that Marshall would be having with it.

Through her comms, Sydney heard Vaughn thanking the men for their business. She watched them turn away and then started to make her own way through the crowd. She and Vaughn had agreed earlier, if the meet finished without any hiccups, to stage a casual meeting at the bar and then leave together. It was expected that the Covenant would have people watching 'Littleton'. Meeting at the bar would attract less attention that if Vaughn had attempted to sneak out and then meet Sydney.

As Sydney headed towards the stairs, somebody jostled her, causing her to drop her bag. Turning, she bent down and grabbed it. As she straightened up something through the masses caught her eyes.

Something that chilled her to the bone.

"Vaughn," she hissed urgently into her comms. "It's Allison."

"What?"

"She's here," she replied, her heart skipping a beat as she watched Allison step back, enveloping herself into the crowd. "I'm going after her."

"Syd, wait for m—"

Sydney stopped listening, hastening her steps as she pushed though the club patrons. She couldn't believe that a chance like this was presenting itself.

But that feeling was soon overtaken by one of defeat. In the mass crowd, Allison seemed to have disappeared without a trace.

Leaving Sydney to wonder if she had even seen her at all.

* * *

"What if it was her? And I just let her go? I should have kept looking." Sydney had been running through what happened in the club for the entire plane trip home, and was now still going as she and Vaughn de-boarded. "And what was she doing there anyway? Did she want in on the meet? I mean, it may not have even been her. I couldn't be sure, but then again, something—" 

"Sydney," Vaughn cut her off, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's time to stop- before you drive yourself mad."

"But I need—"

"No," he smiled at her. "What you need to do is go home, take a bath, do whatever you can to relax and forget the op. Save it all until you walk into the JTF tomorrow."

Sydney sighed. "Yeah, cause it's that easy," she said, rolling her eyes good-naturedly.

"Uh yeah, it actually is," Vaughn mocked her sarcastic tone, a twinkle in his eye, as he pushed her gently towards her car.

"Vaughn!" she laughed.

"Go on, get in," he said. "And go home. And," he added, "don't even think about stewing over what happened, because I will know."

Sydney raised an eyebrow. "So you're an all-knowing power now?"

"That is correct," Vaughn said, opening her car door. "And this all- knowing power is telling you that the best thing for you right now is to forget and _go home_."

* * *

A couple of hours later, Sydney was bathed, dressed in trackies and t-shirt and was, even though she hated to admit it, feeling 100 per cent better that she had at the airfield. 

Standing in front of the fridge, she idly twirled a strand of her still damp hair around her finger as she contemplated whether she was hungry or not.

However, her thought processes were interrupted by a knock on the door. Padding barefoot over to the entrance, she opened it, breaking into a wide smile when she saw who it was.

"I though that you were all knowing," she said. "Doesn't that mean you don't have to check up on me?"

Vaughn grinned. "I'm not here to check up on you. Though, I do see that you followed my advice."

"Go ahead and gloat then," Sydney said genially.

"I'll save that for another day," Vaughn replied. "I actually just dropped by to give you something."

"What?" she asked, and Vaughn held out a gift bag. "You didn't?"

"I couldn't help but notice a lack of…well, personal belongings when you moved in. I thought that this could make a start."

Intrigued, Sydney took the bag and looked inside, her breath catching in her throat when she saw what was inside. Silently, she pulled out a photo frame; almost identical to the one that Vaughn had originally given her. But this particular frame was not empty. Inside was a photograph of a laughing Sydney, Will and Francie.

"Where did you get this?" she asked Vaughn incredulously. Sydney could remember the exact moment that this photo had been taken, at Will's 24th birthday party. Just before Amy had snapped the shot, Will had told a dirty joke, causing all three of them to crack up.

"Will gave me his sister's contact details before he left. I got it from her."

"Vaughn, this is…I don't…" Sydney broke off, looking up into his eyes. Before she realized what she was doing, she had leaned up, kissing him softly.

Vaughn blinked in surprise. "What was that?"

Sydney bit her bottom lip. "Thank you."

With a smile, Vaughn took a step forward, cupped her face and then pressed his lips into hers. There was nothing brief about this kiss, and it was only when the need for oxygen became too great that they broke apart.

"And what," Sydney's mouth curled into a cheeky grin, "was that?"

Placing a gentle kiss in her forehead, Vaughn leant down, his lips brushing her ear. "You're welcome."

* * *

**A/N: **Just a note to let you all know that there is only five more chapters in this fic. 


	22. Another Hurdle

Wow, the response to the last chapter was really positive (the magic of a kiss, I guess :)...). So once again, I just want to thank everybody for your feedback. It really makes my day to read it.

**Fair Cate: **I can totally empathise in regards to uni exams. Luckily, for me, I only had one this semester and that was on Monday, which means I am completely free until next year!! Hope all went well with yours :)

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* * *

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**Chapter Twenty- Two:  
Another Hurdle  
**

_"Vaughn, this is…I don't…" Sydney broke off, looking up into his eyes. Before she realized what she was doing, she had leaned up, kissing him softly._

_Vaughn blinked in surprise. "What was that?"_

_Sydney bit her bottom lip. "Thank you."_

_With a smile, Vaughn took a step forward, cupped her face and then pressed his lips into hers. There was nothing brief about this kiss, and it was only when the need for oxygen became too great that they broke apart._

"_And what," Sydney's mouth curled into a cheeky grin, "was that?"_

_Placing a gentle kiss in her forehead, Vaughn leant down, his lips brushing her ear. "You're welcome."_

* * *

It did not take long for those in the JTF to see that something had changed between Sydney and Vaughn. For Weiss, all it took was for him to watch the two of them greet each other to cause him to march over. 

"What's going on?" he demanded.

Sydney let out a laugh. "I've got work to do," she said, getting away from there as fast as possible. Glancing over her shoulder, she caught sight of Vaughn's indignant face and could not resist giving him a wink before turning around and heading towards her desk.

Seeing it, Vaughn chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

"Well," Weiss broke into his thought. "What is going on between the two of you?"

Vaughn shrugged. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Uh," Weiss gave him a playful shove. "I think you do."

With a blank look Vaughn turned and walked towards his desk. "Got no idea, Weiss."

"What!" Weiss hurried after him. "Are you seriously not going to say anything?"

Vaughn grinned, enjoying that he was adding to Weiss's torment. "I am seriously not going to say anything."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

Weiss paused. "Because you don't want to jinx anything?" he tried. "Because you and Syd are getting back on track?"

Vaughn stopped at his desk. "Weiss," he started, glancing over his shoulder and leaning in slightly, his voice low.

"Yeah?" he asked eagerly.

"I am going to get to work now."

Weiss's shoulders slumped. "Don't think that you can get away with this," he said, wagging a finger. "Because very soon every person in this building will be bugging you for the same information. Whatever has happened, it will soon be public knowledge."

* * *

As if unable to stop herself, Lauren hit the rewind button and played through the footage once again. It hadn't taken them long, but she expected that it would play along these lines. 

However, that did not make it any easier to watch one's future crumble with a simple kiss.

A loud slam of the door caused her to jump slightly. Seconds later Allison appeared.

"How did it go?" Lauren asked.

"I was just there to observe," Allison replied. "And now I know exactly how we need to go about this."

Lauren's eyebrows rose slightly. "You didn't know before? I thought—"

"I've been considering our options," Allison cut off. "Apprehending Bristow on an op was on of those. I thought that it would work to our advantage, but not anymore. She's too alert, too prepared."

"So what is the plan now?"

"We go to where she feels safe- her apartment," Allison said. "The risks are heightened, with neighbours and all that, but she feels secure. She won't be expecting us. Plus, she will be alone."

"I wouldn't count on that," Lauren muttered.

"What do you mean?"

Without a word, Lauren hit play and the footage of Sydney and Vaughn appeared on the screen.

"Didn't take them long," Allison scowled. "But then, I can't say that I am surprised. You should have seen the way they carried on before…" she trailed off, a malicious smile forming on her face, as she turned to Lauren. "But I am sure that is the last thing that you want to hear about. The video's enough- we don't want to add to your jealously."

"I am not jealous," Lauren snapped. "Why would I be? Michael Vaughn was just a task and that is all."

"Oh, I'm sure."

"The only thing that is riling me is the fact that Bristow's reappearance had harboured my position within the Covenant," Lauren said. "And I don't want to wait any longer. We move in tonight."

Allison leaned in slightly. "And what if your little lover boy is there? Do you want us to take him too? Reveal to him who you really are?"

"If that is the case," Lauren said, standing up. "Then all we will need is a little creative distraction."

"Do you have something in mind?"

Lauren smiled. "Of course I do."

**

* * *

**Sydney leaned back from the computer screen, squeezing the bridge of her nose. This was the part of her job that she could do without. No matter how interesting the mission she had just undertaken was, there was noting remotely enjoyable about completing the paperwork afterwards. 

Stretching her arms above her head, Sydney was about to continue typing when a shadow fell over her desk.

"Working on your report?"

Sydney looked up at Vaughn. "At this exact moment not a lot of work is going on. More like procrastination."

Vaughn let out a soft chuckle. "It gets a bit like that, doesn't it?"

"How's your's going?"

"Uh, I've actually finished it."

"Oh," Sydney groaned. "Rub it in, why don't you?"

"Maybe I should let you get back to it. Sooner you get it alone, the sooner you can get out of here."

"Wait," Sydney reached out, grabbing his hand. "Just a little more distraction please."

Vaughn grinned. "What kind of distraction were you after?" he could not resist asking cheekily.

"Hmm," a slow smile formed on Sydney's face. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Nothing... but I guess that's about to change."

Sydney nodded. "How does dinner at mine sound?"

"It sounds great."

* * *

From across the Operations Centre Jack observed the scene take place at Sydney's desk. His fatherly protection was at an all time high. While he assumed that his daughter's relationship with Vaughn would one day start to rebuild, that did not mean that he had to be happy about it. 

Sydney had already been through so much and, in Jack's opinion, Vaughn was not in the best stage of his life to help her work through that. He had, after all, recently been engaged to another woman. A woman who was with him for an ulterior motive.

Jack did not want to see Sydney hurt, and he could not help but feel that Vaughn was capable of doing that.

* * *

Her workday over, Sydney picked up her bag and was about to head out of the JTF when she felt a hand on her shoulder. 

"You done for the day?"

Sydney looked at Vaughn, a smile on her face and nodded. "You?"

"Yup." They fell into step beside one another. "So, what's on the menu for tonight?"

Sydney shrugged. "I'll figure that out when I get home and see what's in the fridge."

Vaughn grinned. "Ok then. What time do you want me there?"

"When—"

"Sydney."

The two of them stopped in their tracks as Jack stepped out in front of them.

"Hi dad."

"May I have a word?" he asked, giving Vaughn a not so subtle look.

"Uh…" Vaughn cleared his throat. "I'll see you."

Sydney nodded and after he had waked off, turned towards Jack. "What is it?"

"I don't want to cross any boundaries…" Jack started and Sydney bit back a laugh.

"Since when are you worried about boundaries?" she asked. "Out with it, now."

"Ok then. I'm concerned."

Sydney's brow furrowed. "About what?"

"About whether you are doing the right thing…with Vaughn."

"Excuse me?"

"I see what's happening, Sydney. Are you sure that it is wise?"

Sydney felt a sudden flash of anger. How dare he? He had no right to interfere…

"Things changed while you were gone- you are well aware of that," Jack continued. "You have already been through so much. I don't want you to have to face another hurdle."

Sydney, who had been about to let rip, bit her tongue. Jack wasn't trying to interfere. He was just expressing his concern- to her face. And that was huge.

"Dad, there is not a chance that Vaughn will end up another 'hurdle' for me. None."

"Are you sure?"

Sydney nodded. "I am going about this the right way. I am not that presumptuous to think that we can just jump back to the way things were…but I am also not going to rob myself of being happy."

Jack considered this for a few seconds. "I guess I'm just worried about you."

"I know that…" Sydney smiled, letting out a soft laugh. "Though I can't believe that you are actually voicing this to me."

"Well, unfortunately I had to live through losing somebody I loved," Jack said simply. "Suffice to say, it really makes you re-evaluate some things."

* * *

"Hey," Sydney opened the door to Vaughn, a bright smile on her face. "Nice timing- I'm just about to dish up." She turned; walking back to the kitchen and Vaughn could not help but marvel. Barefoot, dressed in t-shirt and trackies, hair pulled into a messy bun with a tea towel thrown over her shoulder and Sydney was still the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. 

"Vaughn," Sydney's voice snapped him out of his reverie.

"Yeah."

"Are you gonna stand in the entryway all night?" she asked, her tone tinged with laughter.

"Uh…no." Shutting the door behind him, Vaughn walked through to the kitchen.

Sydney could only grin. "There's a bottle of wine in the fridge. Make yourself useful and pour a couple of glasses."

* * *

Lauren walked brusquely across the darkened street towards the waiting car. 

"Done," she said, climbing in.

"How long have we got?" Allison asked as she turned the key in the ignition.

"Timer is set for ten minutes," Lauren replied, pulling off her dark wig. "We've got plenty of time to get there."

Without another word, Allison hit the accelerator and they were on their way.

* * *

"My compliments to the chef," Vaughn said, carrying their dinner plates over to the sink. 

Sydney followed him, empty wine glasses in hand. "Thank you." Placing the glasses on the bench, she went to trun on the tap, but was stopped when Vaughn placed a hand over hers.

Looking up, she met his eyes. "What?"

"I just," he took a step towards her, his voice barely audible, "wanted to thank you properly."

"How about we stop using 'thank you' as an excuse and you just kiss me?" Sydney asked, a smile playing on her lips.

Vaughn paused, his mouth hovering above hers. "As you wish," he said, and then pressed his lips into hers.

As Sydney wrapped her arms around Vaughn's neck, he snaked his won around her waist, bringing them closer together. It felt so right, with Sydney believing that she could just literally melt into Vaughn. it had been too long between embraces and neither of them were about to let this one end any time soon.

That was, until Vaughn's mobile started to ring obnoxiously. For a couple of seconds they both ignored it, until Sydney pulled back slightly.

"You should answer it."

"No," Vaughn shook his head, leaning in again.

"It might be Operations."

"All the more reason to ignore it."

"Vaughn."

"Fine," he sighed good-naturedly, pulling the phone out of his pocket. "Hello…Steph? What…What!…Ok, I'll be there in five."

"Who was that?" Sydney asked curiously after he snapped the phone shut.

"My neighbour," he answered. "My house alarm is going off. She said that there was no sign of break in, which means it's on the fritz. Ugh," he let off, obviously frustrated. "The street is going to be on my back about this for weeks!"

Sydney bit back a laugh. "You'd better get over there."

Vaughn paused, pressing his lips onto her forehead. "I'll be back as soon as possible."

"I'll be waiting."

* * *

Five minutes later Sydney had rinsed their dinner dishes and was starting to dry them when she heard a creak that sounded out of place. It was not a normal house sound and Sydney was immediately on edge. 

"Vaughn?" she called, stepping out of the kitchen and looking at the front door. "Vaughn, is that you?"

There was no reply. The only thing audible to Sydney's ears was the hammering of her own heart, which quickened its pace even more when she heard another creak.

Turning on her heel, she headed towards her bedroom, where she had been accumulating a stockpile of weapons. The sooner she had a gun in her hand, the better.

But as she walked through the door, something hit her, hard, across the head. Before she fell, somebody grabbed her roughly, wrapping an arm around her neck. Sydney attempted to fight back, struggling until she felt the cold prick of a needle in her neck.

And then everything went black.

* * *

**A/N: **Only four more chapters to go... 


	23. Long Time, No See

Thank you all so much for your feedback. Especially now, that it is getting down to the nitty gritty of the story, I truly appreciate hearing (or reading) what you all think. Thank you.

**incorporeal reader: **Wow, thank you for those comments. They really gave me a boost.

**s: **Heart pounding, hey? Well, it is nice to know that my writing is having some sort of an effect.

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**Chapter Twenty- Three:  
Long Time, No See**

_Five minutes later Sydney had rinsed their dinner dishes and was starting to dry them when she heard a creak that sounded out of place. It was not a normal house sound and Sydney was immediately on edge._

"_Vaughn?" she called, stepping out of the kitchen and looking at the front door. "Vaughn, is that you?"_

_there was no reply. The only think audible to Sydney's ears was the hammering of her own heart, which quickened its pace even more when she heard another creak._

_Turning on her heel, she headed towards her bedroom, where she had been accumulating a stockpile of weapons. The sooner she had a gun in her hand, the better._

_But as she walked through the door, something hit her, hard, across the head. Before she fell, somebody grabbed her roughly, wrapping an arm around her neck. Sydney attempted to fight back, struggling until she felt the cold prick of a needle in her neck._

_And then everything went black.

* * *

_

Pulling to a stop in his driveway, Vaughn jumped out of his car and dashed towards the front door. The alarm was piercing through the air and he could see his curious neighbours gathered out in the street.

As he unlocked the front door, Vaughn could see, out of the corner of his eye, a police car pulling up on the street. He groaned, sure that they would be less than impressed about being called out to a false alarm.

Stepping inside, Vaughn hurriedly input his security code and silence suddenly descended upon the street. '_Like the eye of a storm_,' he found himself thinking for some reason.

Vaughn was about to turn away and head out to greet the police officers when something caught his eye. On the wall, beside the keypad there was a mark. A nick of some sort. Almost as if something had been jimmied in between the device and the wall. Bringing his hand up, Vaughn felt the outer casing. It was loose. He frowned. It had no reason to be loose. So why…

"Excuse me, sir." A voice came from the open front door.

Vaughn looked to see two police officers standing there. "Uh, hi," he replied, still distracted by the keypad.

"Is this your house?" one of them asked.

Vaughn nodded, and then grabbed his wallet, so he could show them his driver's license.

The officer examined it for a second. "Ok. Thank you," he said, handing it back over. "We just need to have a look around. Make sure that there has been no intrusion."

"Don't worry. There was just a problem with the alarm," Vaughn said.

"But we need to ensure that the area is—"

"I can do that myself."

"Sir, we really—"

"Here," Vaughn reached into his back pocket and pulled out his CIA I.D. "I will be fine to check out the place myself."

After a second's hesitation the officer nodded. "Ok then." Turning to his partner, the two of them headed towards the street.

Shutting the front door, Vaughn went back to the keypad. Gently he gripped the casing, prising it from the wall. It definitely came off too easily, and there, amongst the wires, was a small timer.

Vaughn blinked, his mind working furiously. A timer? That was all? But why…obviously somebody wanted him at his apartment. His heart started to hammer.

Somebody had wanted to get him to his apartment…to get him away from wherever he had been.

Sydney's.

* * *

"Pick up, pick up, pick up…" Vaughn muttered as he sped through the streets towards Sydney's. He had already tried her number several times with no luck, and so he had moved on to the next plan. 

Finally there was a click on the other end. "This is Weiss."

"It's Vaughn. Did Sydney give you a spare key to her apartment?"

Weiss didn't even think about making some 'And hello to you to' sarcastic joke. The urgent tone in Vaughn's voice was coming through loud and clear. "Yeah. Why?"

"I'm about a minute away," Vaughn said. "I need you to meet me there."

"Ok, but what's goin—" Weiss stopped. The other end of the line was already dead.

* * *

Weiss walked up to the apartment just as Vaughn came to a screeching halt on the street. Without a word, he opened the front door. There was no point in asking any questions. He wasn't going to get an answer while Vaughn was like this. 

"Syd!" Vaughn yelled as he ran through the front door. There was no answer. "Sydney!"

He had never heard such a horrible silence. This couldn't be happening. Not again. Not when she had only just returned.

The room suddenly felt as if it were moving under his feet. "Oh god," he let out, leaning back heavily against the wall. "Sydney!" he tried once more, but with no avail.

"Vaughn!" Weiss snapped his fingers in front of his face. "What the hell is going on?"

Vaughn looked at him for a few seconds, his expression almost blank. "She's gone," he said quietly. "She's gone."

* * *

Groggily, Sydney opened her eyes, her head feeling as if it were about to split in two. Instinctively she went to bring a hand up to massage her temple, but she found that she could not move it. 

Looking down and wincing from the pain of moving her head, she saw that they were handcuffed to the arms of the chair in which she was seated.

Suddenly it all started coming back to her. Vaughn at her apartment. His alarm going off. Him leaving and then…

Sydney struggled to think. Had she seen who grabbed her? Had they said anything? But there was only a blank.

Ignoring the thumping in her head, Sydney looked around her surroundings, tyring to determine if there were any clues as to where she was. But the small, dark and windowless room did little to help.

Looking back at her hands, Sydney saw that her watch had not been removed and that only an hour had passed since Vaughn had left her apartment. It was only something small, but it gave her hope. That meant that wherever she was, it couldn't be too far from home.

At that point a door in front of her flew open and with it a bright light assaulted Sydney's eyes. She squeezed them shut, and before she could open them again, to try and see who was coming in, a blindfold was wrapped around her head.

"Come on, Sydney," an unfamiliar female, British accented voice said. "It's time to go for a little trip."

And with that Sydney felt the cold prick of a needle on her neck once again.

* * *

"Did the neighbours have anything to say?" Vaughn asked Weiss over the phone. He was outside of Sydney's apartment, pacing and refusing to leave as agents scoured the place, looking for any sign of a clue. 

"Not a lot," Weiss replied, climbing into his car that was parked outside Vaughn's. "The one on the right."

"Steph?"

"Yeah. She saw some car parked out on the street about fifteen minutes before the alarm went off. But no people."

"Did she get a number plate?" Vaughn pressed.

"No- she had no reason to be suspicious."

Vaughn let out an exasperated sigh as he saw Jack heading over towards him. "Weiss, I gotta go," he said and then snapped his phone shut. "Is there anything in the apartment?"

Jack shook his head. "Did Weiss find out anything?"

"No…we've got nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Jack paused for a few seconds, taking in Vaughn's expression and demeanour. "We are going to find her," he said, his voice uncharacteristically gentle.

Vaughn gave a shake of his head, as he ran a hand through his hair. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because it doesn't take a genius to figure out who is behind all this," Jack replied. "And, because of you, we got onto this early. The odds are in our favour. So," he continued, his voice back to its usual brusque tone, "I suggest that you snap out of whatever funk you are in, because moping around is not going to do a damn thing to help Sydney."

Vaughn straightened up. For some reason Jack in his usual Jack mode was more comforting that the softer Jack he'd been a few seconds ago.

"Ok then," Vaughn nodded. "What's our next move?"

* * *

"She's in place," Lauren announced, closing the door behind her. 

A slow grin formed across Allison's' face. "How long before she comes to?"

"Not long."

"Well then, I guess we had better get ready to greet our guest."

* * *

"We may have a small lead." 

Vaughn stood up at the sound of Dixon's voice. By this time they had all congregated back at Operations. "What?"

"The description of the car that your neighbour saw matches that of the one that we caught following Sydney. It could be a start of a trail that will lead to Allison and Lauren," Dixon explained. "Marshall and a team are on it as we speak."

"Ok," Vaughn nodded. "So what—"

"What about Sark?" Jack suddenly broke in. both Vaughn and Dixon could only stare at him.

"What about him?" Dixon asked him.

"We know from his interrogations that he was close to Allison. Maybe he knows of any facilities that she may use."

Suddenly the slim flicker of hope that had ignited after the news of the car grew. Without another word, Dixon picked up his phone.

"This is Dixon. I am sending two agents down now…Prisoner Sark…Thank you." Hanging up the phone, he looked at Jack and Vaughn. "Go…now. And do whatever you can to get any information that may help."

* * *

Sydney heard the door open and footsteps approach her. Seconds later her blindfold was removed. Again, she was in a small dark room. Again she was handcuffed to a chair. Again her head felt as if it would split in two. 

The only difference was that she was no longer alone.

She had assumed who had been responsible for her apprehension. But that did not make it any easier to face the two women before her. One who could have easily turned the man she loved into the person that her father was and one who had executed her best friend and violated her personal life.

"Hello Sydney," Allison said as she took a step towards her. "Long time, no see."

* * *

**A/N: **Only three more chapters to go... 


	24. Fill You In

I want to thank you all so much for your feedback and support- it truly makes my day. And an apology for the slight delay of this update- I sort of broke the mouse to our computer and then the site wouldn't let me log on. But, finally, I am here and here is the next chapter.

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**Chapter Twenty- Four:  
Fill You In**

"_What about Sark?" Jack suddenly broke in. both Vaughn and Dixon could only stare at him._

"_What about him?" Dixon asked him._

"_We know from his interrogations that he was close to Allison. Maybe he knows of any facilities that she may use."_

_Suddenly the slim flicker of hope that had ignited after the news of the car grew. Without another word, Dixon picked up his phone._

"_This is Dixon. I am sending two agents down now…Prisoner Sark…Thank you." Hanging up the phone, he looked at Jack and Vaughn. "Go…now. And do whatever you can to get any information that may help."_

_**xxxxx**_

_Sydney heard the door open and footsteps approach her. Seconds later her blindfold was removed. Again, she was in a small dark room. Again she was handcuffed to a chair. Again her head felt as if it would split in two._

_The only difference was that she was no longer alone._

_She had assumed who had been responsible for her apprehension. But that did not make it any easier to face the two women before her._

_One who could have easily turned the man she loved into the person that her father was and one who had executed her best friend and violated her personal life._

"_Hello Sydney," Allison said as she took a step towards her. "Long time, no see."_

Sydney stared stonily ahead, refusing to look into Allison's eyes. Her mind was working overtime as she tried desperately to see if she had anyway of getting herself out of the cuffs. However, whatever it was that she had been injected with was making it extremely difficult to think.

"What?" Allison took another step forward. "Nothing to say? After all this time?"

"What do you want with me?" Sydney asked.

"I just wanted to say hello," Allison replied and then gestured to the woman standing behind her. "This is Lauren, by the way. I'm sure that you have heard all about her. Like how she took your space in Michael's bed while you were otherwise engaged." She brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "But what you didn't know was that she was only with him for a higher cause.

Sydney turned her head to one side, making the executive decision to keep the fact that she knew the truth about Lauren to herself. Even so, she was not unable to keep the look of disgust off her face.

"Don't!" Allison grabbed Sydney's chin, wrenching her head around so that their eyes met. "Don't get all high and mighty with me," she hissed. "You are no better than me."

Sydney looked at her, hard. "Well, I guess delusion is something you should expect to come with psychopathy."

Allison threw her head back, omitting a loud and cruel laugh. "If you only knew…" Her laughter stopped suddenly. "If you only knew the things that you had been up to over the past months."

"Who's to say I don't?" Sydney shot back defiantly.

"Oh please," Lauren scoffed, finally speaking up. "We know all about your little memory problem. It's the reason that you are here with us and not our employers."

"So why don't we fill you in a little, Sydney?" Allison said. "Would you like to hear about what they did to you? How they managed to break the supposedly unbreakable Sydney Bristow? Or perhaps you would like to hear about the countless lives that you ended without so much as a blink of an eye? You know," Allison paused, her voice dropping several octaves. "From what I heard you liked to get up real close and personal. No long shot rifles for you. You liked to smell their fear right before you put a gun to their temple or sliced them open with a knife."

Sydney closed her eyes, trying to steady her breath. She couldn't show Allison and Lauren that what they were saying was making her feel physically ill. She wasn't capable of such acts, was she?

'_Julia_,' she told herself. '_That was Julia, not you_.'

"You know," Allison continued. "It was incredible what our employers achieved. You were the perfect guinea pig. Sydney Bristow- super spy. If they could break you down successfully, then the world was their oyster. Every human on the planet could be programmed to be one of their little minions."

Sydney blinked. "The process used to turn me into Julia? That is what this was all about? To see how strong their procedures were?"

"Yes. That night, when you so callously left me for dead, the Covenant came. They rescued me and unearthed your little friend's body to plant. That was easy. You, now that was a little more difficult," Allison said. "When a body is badly burnt, like 'yours', they use DNA from the teeth for identification. So they extracted pulp from your own teeth, injecting it in the corpse they'd chosen."

"To the world you were dead," Lauren said. "And may I add, was all the better for it."

Allison leaned in close towards Sydney. "They made you watch your own funeral, did you know? Injected you with a neurotoxin so you had not choice but to sit, paralysed, and watch as your ashes were scattered. Imagine how you felt at that point, Sydney. Just imagine."

"None of that matters now," Sydney said, her voice hard-edged. "Because the Covenant's little plan failed. Julia Thorne is gone."

A cold smile formed on Allison's' face. "Oh Sydney, of course it doesn't matter that Julia is gone. You know why? Because it means that Sydney Bristow is back. And now we will be able to do to you what should have been done long ago."

* * *

Sark stared almost blankly back at Vaughn and Jack, his term of imprisonment giving him a slightly emaciated look. "Sydney's alive? Allison's alive...what else have I missed these past months?" 

"We have no time or interest for small talk," Jack said. "Now, tell us what you can about Allison."

Sark took a step back from the bars separating them. "I'm afraid that I can't help you."

"Bull," Vaughn snapped. "You were involved with her. You have information, so give it to us. Now."

The corner of Sark's mouth curved slightly. "You are sounding a little desperate there, Mr Vaughn. So, I suppose that I could possibly give you a little help…for something in return, of course."

"You will be getting nothing," Jack said "Unless, of course, if you choose not to assist us. Then you will get a trip to Alder Penitentiary, where you will live out the rest of your natural life in darkened, solitary confinement…24/7 in a pitch black cell with zero human contact is a slow way to die."

Sark did not flinch. "You don't have that kind of authority."

"True," Jack replied. "But who is to say that the Director has not already authorised this little excursion?"

"You're bluffing."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "Are you willing to test that theory?"

Something changed in Sark's expression and both Jack and Vaughn knew. Sark would give them any information he knew.

* * *

"Ok," Allison said as she shut the door behind herself and Lauren. "Fun and games over. Let's get this over and done with, so we can get the hell away from here. Her little CIA will be right on her disappearance, and I don't want them anywhere near me." 

"No," Lauren said quietly.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Allison demanded, her voice rising.

"I want to wait."

"Do you have any idea how stupid that is?"

"I don't care."

Allison threw up her hands. "You have no idea about the situation we are in, how risky—"

"I am a Covenant member who went to work every day pretending to a U.S government employee!" Lauren suddenly yelled. "_Don't _talk to me about risks and _don't _talk to me as if I were incompetent!"

"Then stop your ridiculous notion of waiting!" Allison snapped back. "Let's juts walk in there now and do it." She pulled out a gun from the waistband of her pants. "Here, I'll even let you have the honour."

Lauren shook her head. "This was originally my plan and I am saying that we are going to wait."

"Why?"

"Because I want her to suffer. I want this long and drawn out and painful if you put a bullet in her head then it's all over in a matter of seconds. She destroyed my chances and now I am going to destroy her- mentally and emotionally. Then we can take that final physical blow."

Allison ran a hand through her hair. "You don't understand. There's no time."

Lauren's eyes flashed. "If you want out, then go. I'm not the one stopping you."

Allison did not respond, and instead just stalked off. If things were going to get done around this place, then she was going to have to start taking matters into her own hands.

* * *

"Ok," Dixon announced to the crowded conference room. "The information given to us by Sark about possible Doren facilities have all lead to dead ends. All were abandoned with no sign of life. However, he did give us a list of aliases that Allison Doren used to go by. One of those names- a Bree Fletcher- corresponds with the person who hired the car that was recently seen following Sydney Bristow. On that we have started to construct a paper trail on Fletcher.  
You have all been sent a list of Doren's aliases. I want each and every one of you looking into all these names. It is looking positive, guys. It's these names, and the trails they lead which lead us to Doren, and Agent Bristow." Dixon paused and then pointed to the door. "You are all free to go." 

Vaughn stood up from his seat, feeling as if the weight of the world has settled upon his shoulders. It was taking all of his energy to try and muster up some positive thinking and what little hope he had managed to generate did absolutely nothing to make this situation any easier.

Jack, too, was feeling the same. However, being Jack he was working at keeping that concealed from the agents around him. The despair that Vaughn was feeling was written all over his face, Jack noted to himself as he exited the conference room.

Which caused a little voice in the back of Jack's mind to question whether his fears over Vaughn's feelings for Sydney were founded or not.

Shrugging it off, Jack continued to his desk. He'd worry over issue like that another time. Right now he had to focus on finding his daughter.

* * *

"Hello Sydney." 

The voice was enough to send shivers down her spine. Sydney raised her head, taking in Allison's form in the doorway. "What do you want?" she asked dully, still feeling foggy from whatever she had been injected with.

"I just thought that I would pop in."

"Where's your little friend?"

"Oh, she won't be needed for this," Allison replied lightly. "I wanted us to have a little one on one chat."

It was then that Sydney noticed the pistol that Allison was grasping in one hand. She swallowed. So this was it.

"I thought it was about time that we had a little deep and meaningful."

Sydney couldn't help but snort. "Deep and meaningful? Us? About what?"

"Francie."

Sydney's expression hardened. There was not a chance in hell. "No. You either put that gun to my head and shoot or leave. We are not talking about Francie."

"No offence, Sydney, but you're not really in a position to negotiate, are you?"

"Go to hell," Sydney seethed through gritted teeth.

"I am sorry…about Francie," Allison continued, sounding anything but. "I was just following orders. Once I'd been doubled I had to take her place." She paused, aiming the gun at Sydney. "I put a bullet in her head, did you know that? That was how your friend died. Alone, in the kitchen of her restaurant. And nobody not even knew."

Sydney was struggling to fight back tears. "Stop." She didn't care that she was sounding weak. She just couldn't bear to hear this woman talking about Francie in this way.

"I had nothing against her, she was just a casualty of circumstance…you on the other hand." Allison took a step closer. "You, I have a lot against. And that is why you are about to join your best friend." With anticipation written all over her face, Allison cocked the gun. "Good bye Sydney. It was—"

"Stop!"

Sydney jolted in her seat as Lauren burst through the door, wielding her own gun. What was going on?

"Put it down, Allison. I told you now this was going to happen."

Allison whipped around. "Don't think that I am going to let you get in my way, princess. Nobody will even notice if you're gone."

Lauren cocked her gun. "I am not going to tell you twice."

Allison shrugged, rasing her gun. "Then I guess we've got a little problem."

Sydney watched the two of them as several slow and silent seconds passed, struggling to piece together what was happening. Lauren stopping Allison from killing her- it didn't male sense. There had to be something else going on.

But then, before Sydney even realized that one of them had pulled the trigger; a shot rang out, shattering the silence with an almighty blast.

* * *

**A/N: **Only two more chapters to go... 


	25. Three

Thank you all so much for your feedback.

**Muddy Poodle: **Thank you so much for those comments- they were a real boost to my confidence!

**dandan: **Sorry, not going to tell you who got shot...but of course, if you continue to read, it will be revealed within the first few lines :)

**Charmboy4 & RoutineRiot: **Now, you should know by now that I can't help myself when it comes to cliffhangers. I gotta keep my readers coming back somehow :)

**

* * *

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**Chapter Twenty- Five:  
Three**

"_Stop!"_

_Sydney jolted in her seat as Lauren burst through the door, wielding her own gun. What was going on?_

"_Put it down, Allison. I told you now this was going to happen."_

_Allison whipped around. "Don't think that I am going to let you get in my way, princess. Nobody will even notice if you're gone."_

_Lauren cocked her gun. "I am not going to tell you twice."_

_Allison shrugged, rasing her gun. "Then I guess we've got a little problem."_

_Sydney watched the two of them as several slow and silent seconds passed, struggling to piece together what was happening. Lauren stopping Allison from killing her- it didn't male sense. There had to be something else going on._

_But then, before Sydney even realized that one of them had pulled the trigger; a shot rang out, shattering the silence with an almighty blast._

Everything was black. The smell of gunpowder assaulted Sydney's nostrils, as a loud ringing over came her ears. Slowly, she drew in a deep breath as she opened her eyes. She was ok. She hadn't been hit. She was still alive…for the time being.

Allison, on the other hand, hadn't been so lucky.

Sydney found that she could not tear her eyes away from the lifeless form on the ground. Lauren's bullet had pierced her directly in the skull, and there was a large pool of crimson blood forming from the wound. Allison was dead. And the person who had done it was supposedly working with her.

Sydney looked up at Lauren at that point. Her blank expression gave nothing away as she silently holstered her gun and then went about dragging Allison's body out of the room.

Sydney couldn't figure out why Lauren had done it. On the surface, it would appear that Lauren had killed Allison to keep Sydney alive, but she knew that couldn't be the case. There was not a chance that Lauren was on her side.

When the only trace of Allison left in the room was a smeared trail of blood leading out the door, Lauren walked back in, her face contorted with anger.

"I know what you're thinking," she hissed at Sydney. "But don't. Don't think for a second that I just saved your life. All I did was prolong your death."

With that she turned and walked away.

* * *

Vaughn burst into Dixon's office, Jack and Weiss on his heels. 

"What is it?" he asked. The page all of them had received was a 911. The news was either that they had tracked down where Sydney was being held or…it was the one thing all of them could not bear to hear again.

"We've located a property, rented under one of Allison's aliases," Dixon replied. "Only a few hours away by car."

"What makes you think that this place is it?" Jack pressed.

"Because it's the only property of her's we've found in country. There is no sign that Allison or Lauren have left the United States. This is the best shot that we have," Dixon said. "There are choppers standing by. I'll have a team prepped and ready to leave within half an hour."

* * *

Sydney's head was starting to clear. Whatever Allison and Lauren had given her must have finally been wearing off. As she started to regain her typical clarity, all Sydney could do was look around her surroundings, trying to determine if there was a way out. 

But the darkness gave nothing away, not one clue. Crinkling her nose, Sydney sniffed. There was a damp and musty smell, and the air felt stale, not fresh. It was almost as if she were underground.

She looked down at her wrists, each of them attached to the arm of the chair with handcuffs. Moving her hands Sydney found that she had enough mobility to pick the locks…

'_If only I had something to pick them with_,' she thought miserably, the handy pick kit that she always took on missions on her mind.

Frustrated she blew a strand of hair out of her face. How was she…Sydney's thoughts came to a screaming halt. Her hair. Before she had started preparing dinner for herself and Vaughn, she had pulled it up in a bun, securing some fly aways with bobby pins.

A flame of hope ignited inside her, as she bent her head towards her hand, deftly picking out one of the pins. She had no idea whether she would be able to pull this off with a bobby pin, but she had no other choice than to try.

* * *

"Location in sight," Jack said into his comms, relaying the message back to the Operations centre. "Teams are moving in." 

The group of agents had been trudging silently along in the shadows, from where the choppers had landed far enough away to lessen the chance of their approach being heard.

The property in question was just an everyday house, situated on a large lot of land. It was actually a perfect setting; Vaughn found himself thinking as he brought up the rear of the group, ensuring that they were not being followed. It was completely different from the warehouses or abandoned facilities that tended to be favoured for this clandestine behaviour. And being in middle of nowhere it was extremely secluded.

However, as they approached the house, Vaughn could not ignore the gnawing sensation in his stomach, telling him that Sydney was not inside the house. It was ideal for Allison and Lauren, but almost too ideal. To the point of being obvious.

Gazing around there did not seen to be any other place where Sydney could be, but that was not say that it didn't exist.

And so, even though he was well aware it was going against all the protocols of the mission, Vaughn dropped back. And as all the other agents circulated the house, preparing to infiltrate, he turned and walked in the opposite direction.

* * *

Trying hard to keep her breath steady, Sydney contorted her wrist, trying to get the bobby pin in the handcuff's lock mechanism. She had already dropped two pins trying to do this, and couldn't be sure of how many she had left in her hair. 

With a soar or triumph, Sydney felt the pin click into place. "Come on, come on, come on…" she muttered, jiggling the pin until…click.

The cuff clicked open, and Sydney ripped her hand out, quickly getting to work on the other. In a matter of seconds both her hands were free and she was bent over, getting to work at the ropes that were binding her ankles to the legs of the chair.

When the last knot was finally undone, Sydney who had been about to stand up instead froze, her trained ears picking up on the dull thuds of footsteps approaching. In a split second Sydney made a decision, winding the rope back around her ankles, making it seem as if they were still tied. Sitting up, she reclasped the cuff around her wrists, keeping them loose enough to remove her hands if needed. She had no idea what Lauren had planned but with her free from restraint she would definitely have the element of surprise.

A second later the door opened and Lauren appeared. Leaning against the doorframe she simply stared silently, until Sydney could not resist.

"What?"

"I was just thinking," Lauren replied.

"About what?"

"About how everything is about to work out for me." She took a step towards Sydney, a smug smile on her face.

"Well good for you," Sydney shot back, her words dripping with sarcasm.

"Now Sydney. There's no need to get upset…" she trailed off. "Though, your feelings are understandable. After all, I'm pretty sure that you know exactly what is going to happen."

Sydney stared stonily back. She had played into Lauren's hand enough and she wasn't about to give her any more satisfaction.

"I am going to kill you, Sydney Bristow," Lauren said quietly, taking another step forward. "And then, when the time is right, I will work my way back into your grieving boyfriend's life, and pick up from where you so inconsiderately interrupted."

She sounded so deadly serous that Sydney couldn't help herself. She burst into laughter.

Lauren frowned, obviously displeased by Sydney's reaction. "And just what is so funny?" she demanded.

"There is not a chance that Vaughn will take you back." Sydney said.

Lauren's expression turned to one of complacency. "I did it once. What makes you think that I can't do it again?"

"Because," Sydney started. "He knows the truth."

Lauren blinked. "What?"

"He knows who you really are. Who you work for and the real reason you formed a relationship with him."

Sydney could tell that Lauren was struggling to keep a contained façade as she digested this news. "I- I don't believe you."

Sydney shrugged. "Like I care whether you believe me or not," she replied flippantly. "But I suggest that you think about this. How was it that you found out about my little memory problem? A problem that you relayed to your employer's, who in turned called off the search for Julia Thorne." Sydney paused, raising her eyebrows. "Vaughn used you and you played right into his hands."

Lauren was silent for a long time. "How?" she finally asked.

"You didn't clean one of your little bugs properly," Sydney replied. "Vaughn found it, heard one of your conversations. You dobbed yourself in, Lauren. You tied your own noose." She watched Lauren closely, knowing that the other woman's world was coming crashing down around her. All that she had been working towards had just been ripped out from underneath her feet.

Yet Sydney felt not one ounce of sympathy. All she could see was opportunity. Pulling her hands out of the cuffs, she jumped up. Grabbing the chair from behind her, she whipped it around, aiming for Lauren. However, she missed her target when the other woman ducked, and pulled out her gun.

Wielding the weapon, Lauren swung it and Sydney, who was momentarily off balance due to the chair, found the gun smashing into her temple with blinding force.

Even though the pain was excruciating, Sydney was not about to give up. Bringing her leg up, she kicked Lauren square in the back, and then brought an arm down onto her's, in an attempt to dislodge the gun. It failed, and Lauren again attacked Sydney's head with the pistol.

Her head spinning and eyes slightly out of focus, Sydney reached for the chair again. If she was going to go down, then she was going to do it fighting.

But before she could wrap her fingers around the cold metal there was the loud bang of a gun discharging.

* * *

Vaughn's solo search was quickly leading him nowhere. The house seemed to be surrounded by nothing but land. 

Defeated, he was about to turn back and join the other agents when his foot landed on something odd. It was the sound that gave it away. Instead of the silence of the grass and dirt, this step made a dull thid. Crouching down, he brushed away some of the dirt, revealing wood planks underneath. With his fingers his prised the wood up, discovering that it was hinged- a doorway opening up to stairs leading underground into darkness.

"Retriever," he said to Weiss, pressing his comms.

"Boyscout?"

"Yeah?"

"Where the hell are you?"

"I'm outside- north from the back of the house. I've found some sort of underground bunker. I think that it's worth checking you."

"Well, it would be better than this place. We've got nothing."

"I—"

BANG!

"Boyscout? What was that?"

Vaughn's nerves were on edge. "It was a gunshot. I'm moving in."

"No. Wait for back—"

Ignoring Weiss's words, Vaughn started to descend the stairs.

* * *

"Lay one hand on that chair and the next one goes through your brain," Lauren snarled. 

Sydney straightened, trying to keep herself steady as possible. Yet her spinning head was making that very difficult. "Not one for a fair fight, are you Lauren? Obviously you think that you can only beat me if you're the only one armed."

Lauren's upper lip curled. "Don't try any of that reverse psychobabble bull on me. With the state you're in, you have no chance- armed or not."

With as much force as possible, Sydney lunged herself at Lauren, just as she heard a familiar voice yell 'Freeze!' from the doorway.

Lauren moved quick, grabbing Sydney, locking an arm around her neck and pressing the gun to her temple. With Sydney shielding her body, she turned to the door.

"Hello Michael."

"Let her go, Lauren," Vaughn demanded, his own gun aimed at her.

"Or what? You'll shoot and risk hitting your little precious here?"

"Let her go."

"No!" Lauren snapped. "You either drop your gun or your girlfriend gets introduced to some lead. The decision is yours, Michael, and I am giving you to the count to three. One."

Vaughn's eyes connected with Sydney's. His shot was good, he knew that. But there was not a chance that he would risk Sydney, not even the slightest.

"Two."

Sydney knew why he was hesitating. "Vaughn, just shoot—" she cut off abruptly as Lauren tightened the grip around her neck.

"Three."

* * *

**A/N: **Only one more chapter to go... 


	26. Here To Stay

Thank you all so much for your feedback.

**

* * *

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**Chapter Twenty-Six:  
Here To Stay**

_With as much force as possible, Sydney lunged herself at Lauren, just as she heard a familiar voice yell 'Freeze!' from the doorway._

_Lauren moved quick, grabbing Sydney, locking an arm around her neck and pressing the gun to her temple. With Sydney shielding her body, she turned to the door._

"_Hello Michael."_

"_Let her go, Lauren," Vaughn demanded, his own gun aimed at her._

"_Or what? You'll shoot and risk hitting your little precious here?"_

"_Let her go."_

"_No!" Lauren snapped. "You either drop your gun or your girlfriend gets introduced to some lead. The decision is yours, Michael, and I am giving you to the count to three. One."_

_Vaughn's eyes connected with Sydney's. His shot was good, he knew that. But there was not a chance that he would risk Sydney, not even the slightest._

"_Two."_

_Sydney knew why he was hesitating. "Vaughn, just shoot—" she cut off abruptly as Lauren tightened the grip around her neck._

"_Three."_

Lauren let out a harsh laugh. "Time's up," she said, cocking her gun.

"Stop!" Vaughn yelled.

"Put down your gun and I will!" she yelled back. She paused, a cruel grin forming on her face. "If you love her, you'll put the gun down."

Sydney could see Vaughn faltering. "No!" she managed to get out. "Don't fall for it, Vaughn."

But he had already lowered his weapon. As he did this Sydney could feel Lauren's grip on her neck lessen slightly.

"Always knew that you were big romantic," Lauren sneered. "You al—" She cut off abruptly. In her moment of slight distraction Vaughn had quickly raised his gun and fired. The bullet hit Lauren in the shoulder, causing her grip on Sydney to loosen entirely. Instantly, Sydney threw herself onto the ground as Vaughn fired a second and third time, both shots piercing Lauren in the chest.

Before her body had even hit the ground, Vaughn was by Sydney's side, helping her up.

"Vaughn?" Sydney murmured, finding that she was still pretty unsteady on her feet.

Vaughn brushed her hair away from her forehead, wincing at the nasty gashes that were on her temple. "Yeah, it's me," he said. "Syd, where is Allison?"

"She's dead, Lauren shot her." Sydney replied, bringing a hand to the side of her head. "How did you find…"

"You'll be told everything when we get home, but I think that right now, we need to get you to a hospital."

Sydney gave a short nod. "My head hurts."

Vaughn let out a soft chuckle, as she slumped against him. "I wonder why." Supporting her with his arms the two of them headed towards the door- just as Weiss and the rest of Vaughn's back up came bursting through.

"Vaughn," Weiss sounded breathless. "You ok?"

"I'm fine, Syd needs medical attention though."

"Right…" Weiss trailed off, as he looked over Vaughn's shoulder. "Is that…"

Vaughn nodded curtly. "Allison's body is around here somewhere too. We'll need to organize a removal."

"I'll take care of that," Weiss replied. "You just get Syd out of here."

* * *

The smell hit Sydney's nose before she even opened her eyes. That awful sterile scent that was associated with all hospitals. But even though she had some idea of where she was, there was still those few disorientating seconds when she finally did open her eyes. 

"Hey,' a soft voice said. "Welcome back."

Looking to her left, Sydney saw Vaughn sitting up in a chair. "Welcome back? How long have I been out?"

"A while. You passed out in the chopper over here. But," Vaughn paused, a cheeky smile forming on his face. "That has to be expected when one receives two blunt trauma to the head."

Sydney brought a hand up to her temple, the image of Lauren's gun connecting with her head crashing into her mind. Inhaling sharply, she looked at Vaughn. "Lauren? Is she…"

His expression remained pokerfaced. "She's dead," he replied quietly.

"Are you…" Sydney paused. "Are you ok?"

Vaughn gave a short nod. "Yeah, I think I am…at least I will be." He reached over for Sydney's hand. "What about you? What did they do to you?"

Sydney remained silent for a few seconds. "I was mostly left alone- you witnessed the worst of the physical stuff. But…"

"But what?"

"Allison told me things…about Julia. The things that I did…" she trailed. "They were horrible…"

"Hey," Vaughn rubbed soothing circles on the back of Sydney's hand with his thumb. "That wasn't you, ok. You cannot think of Julia as you."

A ghost of a smile crossed Sydney's face. "And how many times have you told yourself that, Vaughn?"

"We all had to remind ourselves a few times while Julia was in our custody…but we don't have to worry about that anymore. She is gone. Dead."

The smile suddenly dropped from Sydney's expression. "I saw my funeral, Vaughn."

He blinked. "What?"

"You remember when you took me to the beach and I said that I felt as if I had been there before?" He nodded. "Well, I had. When I was captured they took me there. Forced me to watch."

Vaughn's complexion had paled considerably. "Do…" he cleared his throat. "Do you remember it?"

She shook her head. "Just another of the delights that Allison informed me of."

"Oh Syd," Vaughn placed a hand on her cheek. "This is over now. I promise you."

"I wish I could believe that," Sydney replied. "But I just don't see how this Julia business can ever really be over."

* * *

After gingerly pulling the top over her head, Sydney looked in the small mirror and cringed. Every time she caught sight of the wound on her temple, it looked nastier and nastier. And while, with her chosen profession, Sydney was accustomed to many injuries and maladies, the fact of who had given her this on made it seem all the more worse. 

Sighing, she opened the door to the tiny bathroom and stepped back into the hospital suite. Standing by the foot of the bed, and looking somewhat awkward, was her father.

"Hi," Sydney smiled, approaching him.

"Hello," Jack replied. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. The doctor just gave me the all clear. I'm just getting ready to leave."

"Do you need a lift?"

Sydney shook her head. "Thanks, but Vaughn's already giving me one."

"Oh," Jack's expression hardened slightly and Sydney could not help but let the feeling of frustration creep up on her.

"Dad, please don't start raising your suspicions about Vaughn again, because there is absolutely no reason to do so."

Jack's face was a picture of innocence. "I was going to do nothing of the sort."

"Dad," Sydney raised her eyebrows. "Think about who you are talking to here."

"Then why don't you do the same thing, Sydney? I am your father. My concerns for you will always exist, no matter how much you try and reassure me."

"Concerns are one thing," Sydney replied. "But downright disapproval is another."

Jack blinked. "I don't…I never…"

"The what is it?"

"Maybe…maybe it's that I just don't see him as good enough for my daughter."

Sydney couldn't help but smile. "How about you let your daughter decide whether he is good enough for her?" She paused. "Look dad, I know that you find it…difficult to be able to have faith in people and I understand that. But, how about, just this one time, you find it in yourself to trust my instincts. I am _your _daughter, after all. There's no denying that they're going to be spot on."

"Now, how can I argue with that?"

"Knowing you dad, I'm sure that you will find a way."

A noise by the door caused both Sydney and Jack to look over, to see Vaughn standing there, keys in hand.

"Hello Jack," she said. Jack simply gave him a short nod and so he turned to Sydney. "Are you ready?"

She nodded and Jack made to head to the door. "Hey dad."

"Yes?"

"Let's have dinner sometime this week. When suits you?"

Jack thought for a second. "Thursday?"

"Sounds good to me," Sydney replied. "So, I'll just book us a table at—"

"How about Michelli's?" Jack interjected.

Sydney's smile widened and Vaughn couldn't help but wonder why. "I haven't eaten there since I was eight."

"It's been awhile," Jack said. "Book for 8.30 and I'll meet you there." With that he turned and headed out the door, pausing only for a second to shoot Vaughn one of his famous glares. Vaughn got the message loud and clear- hurt my daughter and I'll snap your neck. He gave Jack a quick nod of understanding and the older man continued on his way.

"Come on," Sydney's voice snapped Vaughn away from the terrifying images of Jack that had conjured up in his mind. "Let's get me out of this place."

"So," Vaughn said as they made their way to the elevator. "Michelli's?"

Sydney looked at him. "What about it?"

"Well, you practically started to glow when your dad mentioned it."

She let out a tinkling of soft laughter. "Did I?"

"Yeah, you did."

"It was my favourite restaurant when I was kid," she explained. "I couldn't believe that dad remembered."

"And the world suddenly makes sense again…or does it?" Vaughn asked jokingly as he wrapped an arm around Sydney's shoulders. "Because I don't know about you, but Jack in sensitive daddy mode is kinda confusing me."

Sydney grinned. "Confusing or not, I'll be milking this for all it's worth."

"You know what," Vaughn pressed his lips onto the top of her head. "I kinda figured you would."

* * *

The light-hearted banter between the two stopped when Vaughn had driven out of the hospital car park. Sydney, who was staring intently out her passenger window, had fallen into a pensive silence. One that Vaughn knew better than to try and talk her out of. She would let him in on what was bothering her soon enough. 

Soon enough was a couple of minutes later. "Could you take a left at the next light, please," she asked quietly.

"But your place is right," Vaughn said, his brow furrowed.

"I know, but just take a left. I'll explain when we get there."

"Ok…" Vaughn shrugged, as he hit the indicator to move across the lanes.

As Sydney continued to give instructions, Vaughn suddenly realized where she wanted to go. And as they approached the destination, Sydney must have been aware of this as she fell into her silence once again.

Pulling over onto the side of the road, Vaughn turned, looking out of Sydney's window at the rows and rows of tombstones before them.

"Syd," he said quietly, reaching out a hand and placing it on her shoulder.

She turned to face him. "Yeah?"

"Do you want some company?"

"Yeah…but I think I should spend some time alone with her."

"Well, I'll be right here."

"I know." Sydney gave him a small smile, leaning across and brushing her lips against his. "And thank you."

* * *

Sydney's stomach churned as she stopped in front of the tombstone. She had refused to come here, because before she had been under the impression that it was Allison's body and not that of her best friend. 

_Francine (Francie) Calfo  
__01/03/1975 to 26/01/2003  
__Her life taken years too soon, but  
__may her spirit live on till eternity_

"Oh Francie," Sydney sighed, crouching down as her throat constricted threateningly. "This wasn't supposed to happen. Not to you…especially not you." She drew in a deep breath. "I'm sorry that I didn't come earlier. I thought…I thought…"

Sydney brought a hand up to her mouth. The thought of Allison was making her feel physically ill. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Vaughn, within eyesight, sitting in his car.

"That's Michael, from the bank…though you probably know the truth about the 'bank' now. I'm sorry that you never got to meet him…I would have really liked for the two of you…it's my fault. It was my job that did this to you, and that landed Will in Witness Protection. I am…" Sydney wiped furiously at the tears that had been forming in her eyes. Feeling her legs give away from underneath her, she collapsed to her knees.

"I am so sorry, Fran. I know that nothing I say can make up for what happened to you, but you have to know that you were on of the most important people in my life. You kept me sane, made me laugh…and now you're gone. Without even being given the chance to say good-bye. I miss you so much. I am so sorry…" Sydney trailed off, unable to control the tears that were now streaming down her face. Burying her face in her hands, she let the racking sobs come. There was no point in attempting to stop them. Her best friend was gone and she was the cause of it.

"Syd?"

She jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up she saw Vaughn standing there, silhouetted by the sun.

"I know you wanted to be alone," he said, crouching down beside her. "But I saw you from the car…are you ok?"

Sydney's face crumpled even more. "She must hate me…I hate me…"

"Hey," Vaughn said soothingly, pulling Sydney into his arms. "What happened to Francie was not your fault. You had no control whatsoever over the situation."

"But—"

"No," Vaughn's tone was gentle but firm. "You lost your best friend and you have every right to feel devastated about that. But I don't ever want to hear you blaming yourself again."

"I…I just miss her so much. And Will." She drew in a deep breath as she sagged against Vaughn. "You would have really liked her."

"Yeah?"

"She was…she was just so…Francie. In your face and straight to the point. She was like a fresh dose of reality whenever you spoke to her…unless of course, she was fantasizing about Kobe Bryant," Sydney finished with a small smile.

"Kobe, hey?" Vaughn said, running a hand over Sydney's hair.

She could only nod, as she brought her hands up to wipe her eyes.

"Well," Vaughn started. "The way you and Will used to sing Francie's praises, I wish that I had met her as well."

Sydney looked up at him. "Can you take me home?" she asked quietly.

"Of course," Vaughn stood and then held out a hand, helping her up.

"Could you…I need a just a minute."

Vaughn nodded, understanding completely. "I'll meet you at the car."

As he walked off, Sydney turned back to the gravesite and placed a hand on the cool grey stone. "Good bye Fran," she said softly. "I'll be back for a chat another day."

* * *

"Here you go," Vaughn said, walking out onto the small patio and handing Sydney a glass of soft drink. 

"Thanks." Sydney took the glass as he sat down beside her. "Though I wish that this was wine…or vodka. Maybe teqiula. After the past few days I could really do with any of that."

Vaughn let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, I can see that going down really well with those pain killers you're on."

Sydney just gave a small smile, closing her eyes as a light breeze crossed her face. It was a perfect balmy evening, one that Sydney wished could last forever. There was something about the feel and smell of the air that made her feel…hopeful. Like that everything was going to be ok eventually.

"How are you doing?" Vaughn asked, raising his own glass to his lips.

Sydney looked at him, distracted by her own thoughts. "Hmm?"

"I asked how you were," Vaughn repeated. "Today was pretty full on."

Her face clouded slightly. "Just a bit…" she murmured. "But I think that I am going to be ok."

"Pretty amazing what saying good bye can do," Vaughn commented quietly.

"Yeah, Sydney nodded. "Yeah, it is."

* * *

Several hours later Sydney and Vaughn had migrated inside to the kitchen, where she was rinsing out their glasses. 

"Vaughn!" Sydney swatted his hand away. "I am perfectly capable of doing this."

"Well, I wasn't sure how much that head injury of yours had altered your motor skills," he teased.

Giving him a slight push, Sydney turned off the tap. "See? All done. Now, would you care to stop treating me like a child?"

"I would never even think of treating you like a child," Vaughn deadpanned.

"Oh really?"

He nodded, leaning in. "Yes. Because if you were a child, I could get into a lot of trouble for doing this." Pressing his lips against hers, he snaked his arms around her body, pulling the two of them tighter together.

"Well," Sydney said when they had broken apart. "I think you have certainly make your point clear, Vaughn."

Vaughn chuckled, kissing her briefly once again. "I should probably go. It's getting late and I've got work tomorrow. And you," he tucked a strand of hair behind Sydney's ear, "probably need to get some rest."

"Wait," Sydney grabbed his arm.

"What?"

"I don't want you to go," she said. "Stay."

* * *

Feeling something brush against her forehead, Sydney languidly stretched about her legs and opened her eyes. Vaughn was leaning over the bed, fully dressed in a suit. 

"Hey," she said, a slow smile forming on her face.

"Hey yourself," Vaughn replied, as his face turned apologetic. "I've got to go."

"How about you just stay home today?"

"I wish," Vaughn replied. "But unfortunately not all of us are lucky enough to have a head trauma to get us a day off work."

"Well, if that's all you need, then it can be easily arranged," Sydney quipped cheerfully.

"Yeah, too easily. And that is what scares me about you," Vaughn laughed, bending over and kissing her. "I'll come by over my break. We can have lunch."

Sydney smiled. "See you then."

"Oh, by the way," Vaughn paused at the door. "I grabbed your mail. It's sitting on the bench."

* * *

A couple of hours later, Sydney stepped out of the bathroom, having spent considerable time soaking in a bath. Walking to the bench, she picked up the small pile of mail that Vaughn had placed there before. Most of it was uninteresting, but there was one plain envelope that caught her eye. 

There was no stamp or address, just her name. Intrigued, she sat at the bench, tore the envelope open and pulled out a single sheet of paper. When Sydney saw who has signed the letter, she felt her heart leap to her throat.

_Dear Syd,_

_I wrote this while I was back in L.A and asked Vaughn to give it to you when he felt that the time was right. So, I guess that this is the right time.  
I don't know what is worse- you being 'dead' and out of my life completely or you being back and not being able to see and speak to you everyday…well, actually it's not all that difficult to differentiate between the two. Having you back, alive and safe, there is nothing more that I could ask for (except of course, having you around every day).  
The fact that we are now separated- I don't want you to blame yourself. I know you Syd, probably better than I know myself. What happened to me, and what happened to Francie, it is not your fault. You were doing all that you could to protect us, and to protect the world. And I am only thankful for that. Regardless of what has happened, you have made the world a safer place. Fran, and me, that was out of your control. I blame you in no way, and I can vouch for Fran, because I am pretty sure that she would feel the same way.  
There is another thing, Syd. Julia. I know that she is not the world's nicest person (perhaps a slight understatement) and that she has done her fair share of terrible things, but Syd, please do me a favour. Don't hate her.  
I know, I know- what am I thinking…well, I am thinking that I don't want to have you consumed by this woman. After all, who knows where you would be if it weren't for her. Would you even be alive? She brought you back home to us, Syd. She knew exactly where to go and for that, I am forever grateful and consider myself entirely in Julia Thorne's debt (though, perhaps the bruises I am sporting has paid a little of that off…)  
I know that having no memory of your time as Julia will be driving you crazy. And I know that, you being you, there is the chance that you will let your need to discover exactly what went on during this past months completely take over.  
Please don't Sydney. Julia, whatever she did, she kept you safe. And now that you're back, I want you to enjoy that- with no traces of guilt whatsoever.  
I love you; Syd, and I promise that we'll be seeing each other another day.  
Will_

Silently, Sydney read through the letter several times, running her fingers over the pen's indents, as if trying to determine whether the letter was real. Standing, she made her way back to her bedroom, folded the letter and placed it in the top drawer of her dresser. The letter had made her feel lighter, somehow. An effect she was sure that Will was hoping for.

Smiling, she closed the drawer.

* * *

When Vaughn arrived at Sydney's at lunch, he asked nothing about the letter and nor did she offer any information. 

However, when Sydney embraced him, Vaughn would had to have been completely oblivious not to notice that the tension she's been carrying since her return had all but dissipated.

"Come on," Sydney said, grabbing her bag. "Let's go somewhere for lunch. It's too nice a day to spend it inside."

Vaughn chuckled as he followed her to the door. "You're certainly chipper."

Sydney paused, unlocking the door and looked at him over her shoulder. "Thank you," she said, her face widening in a smile.

"For what?"

"You could not have got the timing more right."

Vaughn took a step towards her, pressing his lips softly to hers. "It's about time that I got something right."

Sydney shrugged, pushing open the door. "Oh, I don't know. I reckon that you've done some other things right."

"Are you going to elaborate?"

Sydney looked at him, a cheeky grin on her face. "You got me back, didn't you?" she said playfully.

"Yeah, I did," Vaughn's expression suddenly sobered. "And don't think for a second that I am going to risk letting you go again."

"I am going to hold you to that," she answered. "Because I am here to stay."

"That's what I was hoping," Vaughn said and then held out his hand. "Lunch?"

"Let's go," Sydney replied, placing her hand in his.

**THE END**

**

* * *

**

Once again, I want to take the time to thank everybody for their support during this fic. To those who read, and especially to those who took the time to review- the motivation to keep writing definitely comes from all of you, after all I do not write these stories for myself.  
That being said, I hope that this final chapter was to your satisfaction. I struggled a little writing it, with the scenes at the cemetary and Will's letter. The scene at Francie's grave was something that I have wanted to write for a long time. Originally it had been my plan to write as a one shot, but I could never find the right way to go about it and then this story gave me the chance to write it in a different way. I can only hope that it was written in a satisfactory manner (the same for the letter from Will).  
So once again, a great big huge thank you (I am sending all of you a big hug right now!) and you will be hearing from me soon :)


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